Scottis Tourist Guides Association - Scottish Tour Guides: Scottish culture, history, architecture, tourist guides throughout Scotland, experienced and professional,

Scottish Tourist Guides Association

Background

[Lochnagar makes a spectacular background] Founded in 1959, the STGA became a company limited by guarantee in 1996. Its National Executive comprises a voluntary Board of 11 Directors, 5 elected by the membership, 4 nominated by our four Local Branches and others nominated by the Board..

Our staff managing the national office in Stirling are Elaine Magee, our General Manager, Dot Wylie our Booking Secretary and Alison Norman our part-time Bookkeeper. We also use the services of Ros Newlands, Training Manager and Judith Sleigh our newsletter Editor on a sub-contract basis.

Currently the STGA numbers 284 Ordinary Members, trained and qualified to guide throughout Scotland. The Association also has 71 Regional Affiliates, accredited to guide only in the specific areas in which they trained and 34 Site Affiliates accredited to guide a specific route or within a specific site.

The Scottish Tourist Guides Association

is the only body of professionally qualified guides in Scotland

and its Ordinary Members are entitled to wear the coveted Blue Badge.

The Coat of Arms on our Blue Badge is a guarantee of quality and only current accredited STGA Ordinary Members are permitted to wear it, as the Lord Lyon King of Arms and his court protect its use.

All our guides are covered by insurance for Public Liability and Professional Indemnity, and are self-employed.

The STGA offers several different categories of Membership and Affiliation:

STGA Members - Ordinary Blue Badge guides accredited to guide throughout Scotland; Student; Non-Practising Ordinary; Retired; Honorary.
STGA Affiliates - Regional Affiliates, accredited to guide in a boundary-defined area or region of Scotland only; Site Affiliates, accredited to guide a specific route or within a specific site.
STGA Associates - These are not tourist guides but companies or organisations who wish to be associated with the STGA and the standards it represents.

[How did they wear it? in the Chapel at Stiring Castle] Our collective and individual expertise reflects a wide range of special interests which include: