AS chairman of the Scottish Tourist Guides Association (STGA), the professional body for qualified Blue Badge tourist guides in Scotland, I read with interest your look at the Gaelic heritage ("Tourism is 'failing Gaelic culture'", The Herald, July 4, and "Has Gaelic culture been written out of Scotland's story"?, Herald Magazine, July 4).
Coinneach Maclean, whose views are featured in the article, is a member of the STGA and a valued colleague, and the association endorses many of the opinions he expresses. We share his concern at the number of unqualified and virtually untrained "guides" who "set themselves up to take money from unsuspecting tourists" by "spouting arrant nonsense. This problem is not confined to the Highlands and Islands - Edinburgh, in particular, is teeming with unqualified "guides".
Unfortunately, tourist guiding is unregulated in the UK, and it would require action by government (British or Scottish) to introduce a measure of regulation to the profession. Mr Maclean suggests that Visit Scotland should take steps to prevent unqualified guides operating, but in the absence of legal regulation it is hard to see how this could be achieved.
Blue Badge guides, in contrast, undergo a rigorous assessment process at the end of a two-year course before qualifying for membership of the Association. The course covers core knowledge of Scottish history, culture and landscape; regional knowledge of all parts of Scotland; and the professional guiding skills essential to a competent guide.
Mr Maclean, in passing, makes some observations on the treatment of Gaelic culture when he himself took the Blue Badge course between 2008 and 2010. I was not on that particular course but it should be noted that we keep the content and structure of the course under constant review in order to ensure that it is comprehensive, relevant and practical. Since 2014 the STGA has taken the course fully in-house, and it is worth noting that Mr Maclean himself is the tutor on Gaelic culture for the current Blue Badge course.
Support for the training and accreditation of Blue Badge guides by VisitScotland or the Scottish Government would indeed be welcome, but would inevitably take time to set up. In the meantime, tour operators and visitors to Scotland should note that the only assurance of a quality guiding experience is to use a Scottish Blue Badge guide.
John A Duncan,
Chairman, Scottish Tourist Guides Association,
Norie's House, 18b Broad Street, Stirling.
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