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Sue Gruellich took on the role of chair in 2014 and her particular interest was marketing and networking within the tourism industry.
‘We organised "speed-dating" for two cohorts of newly graduated guides to introduce them to tour operators keen to meet and employ them,’ she said.
‘It proved very successful and for the second session existing guides also signed up in order to meet potential new employers and the tour operators even asked when the next one would take place.’
Chairman John Duncan initiated a wide-ranging review of STGA’s strategic direction for the next few years. It looked at marketing and PR; training and recruitment; CPD and quality control, membership services and finance and administration.
In January 2016 the new STGA website was launched with considerable additional functionality and content.
John Duncan reported that there was no shortage of work for members during the year – indeed in some sectors the level of demand for guiding services was already stripping its capacity to supply.
The booking office provided more than £257,000 worth of work for 223 guides.
2016 also saw a new honorary president for the STGA, The Duke of Argyll, carrying out his first task presenting new guides with their Blue Badges.
To mark the 250th anniversary of Edinburgh New Town in 2017 the Edinburgh branch organised series of New Town walking tours marketed in conjunction with various other bodies including VisitScotland and ETAG under the soubriquet Edinburgh’s Georgian Shadows.
John also told the annual conference that 2017 proved to be a bumper year for Scottish tourism.
He believed it was the result of several factors. First the post Brexit weakness of the pound made the UK an economical destination for overseas visitors and encouraged British people to holiday at home. ‘Scotland’s attractions have been widely publicised through popular films and TV programmes,’ he said.
‘Witness for instance the Outlander phenomenon. The continuing rapid growth of the cruise sector has increased the demand for guiding services. The year 2017 saw some additional 80,000 additional cruise ship visitors to Scotland compared to 2016.
‘Given that an average shore excursion has around 40 guests, this equates to about 2000 additional guiding jobs.’
As the STGA approached its 60th anniversary it was clear that the tourist industry in Scotland had grown exponentially since the first meeting of guides in 1959 to form the association.
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