Tourist information and guiding services

Tourist information centres
Regional tourist boards
Guided tours on open top buses
tour guides
VisitBritain

Tourist information centres are located in:
City centres
town centres
historical towns
popular tourist destinations

Local tourist information centres: Library Solihull

1. give advice about accommodation, car hire, visitor attractions, restaurants, transport.
2. provide maps of town and region they serve
3. Funded by local authority
4. located in centre of towns or cities
5. information as to what is on - theatres, concerts
6. sell souvenirs

Guiding Services
e.g. guided tour of a castle, stately home, city

Aim
To make the tour as informative and interesting as possible

Cities like London, Stratford upon Avon, Bath have touris on open top buses. The tour guide gives a running commentary which usually includes interesting stories about people and places on the route. Often head sets are provided for non-English speaking visitors.

Some guides are volunteers who have a special interest in the history of a place


Blue Badge Guide Scheme
The Blue Badge is the British national standard guiding qualification, every guide has the same background of national core knowledge combined with in-depth local knowledge
Blue Badge Guides have a wide range of languages (40!), specialities and interests, and can guide on foot, in cars, on coaches, on trains and on boats.

Professional, qualified tourist guides for sightseeing.

Products offered by Tourist Information Centres

1. information leaflets
2. maps
3. brochures
4. audio tapes

Services

1. coaches
2. help and advice
3. speaking foreign languages
4. booking accommodation and catering
5. car hire