Scottish Tourist Guides Association

What Scottish Tourist Guides Association does

The Scottish Tourist Guides Association (STGA) is the only professional membership body for fully trained and accredited tourist guides in Scotland, established in 1959 and incorporated in 1996 as a company limited by guarantee (SC167477). Headquartered at the STEP Commercial Centre in Stirling, STGA maintains a membership base of 500+ self-employed guides operating across Scotland, including 309 Blue Badge guides qualified to lead tours nationwide, 189 Green Badge guides specialized in regional areas (Orkney, Shetland, Skye, North Highlands, North East), and Yellow Badge guides for site-specific tours. The association offers multilingual services across 22 languages and serves individual tourists, corporate/MICE clients, cruise ship shore excursions, and special-interest segments (whisky, golf, Outlander, ancestral tourism). Endorsed by VisitScotland and VisitBritain, and accredited by the World Federation of Tourist Guides Associations (WFTGA) and European Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (FEG), STGA's Blue Badge training involves over 1,300 hours of study over 18-24 months aligned with EN15565 standards.

STGA's core products include a tiered qualification system (Blue, Green, Yellow Badges) and corresponding training courses, a Find Your Guide online search database that filters by location, language, date, duration, and special interest, driver guide services, language services, and a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programme. Technology is limited to the Find Your Guide web search tool, virtual tour content (developed during COVID-19), podcast production, and social media presence; the association does not develop proprietary technology products. The Coat of Arms is registered with the Court of the Lord Lyon King of Arms. Member support includes Public Liability and Professional Indemnity insurance.

Revenue is derived from three streams: recurring annual membership subscription fees paid by guides, fees for Blue/Green/Yellow Badge training courses, and guide services fees (guides are self-employed and set their own fees, transacting directly with end clients). Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer via the online Find Your Guide search tool, with supplementary content marketing, social media, industry events (Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Thistle Awards), and partnerships with heritage organizations. Pricing is individually negotiated between guides and clients in GBP, with suggested fee guidelines issued by STGA. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed.

Name

Scottish Tourist Guides Association

Legal name

Scottish Tourist Guides Association

Website

https://stga.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1959

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Stirling

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Guide Membership Fees: Annual subscription fees paid by guides for membership to STGA, which provides accreditation, training, insurance coverage, and access to the Find Your Guide database
2. Guide Training Courses: Revenue from Blue Badge, Green Badge, and Yellow Badge training courses. Blue Badge training involves over 1,300 hours of study over 18 months to 2 years
3. Guide Services Fees: Guides are self-employed and set their own fees for tours. Fees vary by guide, language demand, and tour type. Payment is typically made in advance directly to guides

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

STGA operates as the professional membership body for fully trained and accredited tourist guides in Scotland. Its core offering is a portfolio of WFTGA-accredited guide qualifications (Blue Badge for nationwide Scotland, Green Badge for regional specialisation, Yellow Badge for site-specific guiding), accompanied by an online Find Your Guide directory that matches clients with guides by location, language, dates, duration, and special interests, and supported by Driver Guide and multilingual Language Services across up to 22 languages.

Product overview

The Scottish Tourist Guides Association operates as a professional membership body offering a portfolio of tourist guiding and training services. The core offering includes three tiers of guide qualifications (Blue Badge for nationwide Scotland, Green Badge for regional specialisation, and Yellow Badge for site-specific guiding), supplemented by driver guide services and multilingual guiding capabilities across 22 languages. The Association provides a Find Your Guide search tool enabling clients to locate guides by area, language, dates, duration, and special interests. Training programmes include Blue Badge (2-year/18-month intensive course), Green Badge, Yellow Badge, and Guiding is Fun courses, all accredited by the World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (WFTGA) and aligned with EN15565 standards. Member support includes Continuous Professional Development (CPD) and insurance coverage.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Blue Badge Guide Course
• Green Badge Guide Course

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 500 members and 494 guides listed in online database
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• VisitScotlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVisitScotland is the national tourism organization for Scotland and officially recognizes STGA as the professional membership body for fully trained and accredited tourist guides in Scotland. STGA guides are described as passionate ambassadors who deliver memorable experiences for visitors.
• VisitBritaincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVisitBritain officially endorses STGA as the professional membership body for tourist guides, providing national-level recognition alongside VisitScotland.
• World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (WFTGA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSTGA is recognized by WFTGA as the membership association for professional, qualified, and accredited tourist guides in Scotland. Mary Kemp-Clarke serves as a Vice President of WFTGA. STGA training courses are WFTGA accredited. Scotland hosted the WFTGA convention in 2003.
• European Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (FEG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSTGA is recognized by FEG as the membership association for professional tourist guides in Scotland. Viola Lewis serves as a trainer with FEG and is part of the FEG Training Consultative Group.
• Trees for LifeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental charity for which STGA member Andrea Middleton donates trees for bookings made directly with her. Trees for Life aims to promote natural regeneration of Scottish forests, plant native trees, and remove non-native species.
• Scottish Tourism AlliancecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSTGA attends Scottish Tourism Alliance events and Scottish Thistle Awards to express opinions on tourism matters and network. The STA holds events throughout March in advance of the tourist season.
• Edinburgh World HeritageminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEdinburgh World Heritage is a charity that preserves Edinburgh's World Heritage Site. STGA Edinburgh branch conducted West End Stories walking tours and donated £300 from profits to support the charity.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Guild of Registered Tourist Guides (London): The London-based equivalent professional membership body for fully qualified tourist guides in England, using a near-identical model of badge accreditation, training, and a guide-finding directory. STGA's direct functional counterpart within the UK.

Broad incumbents

• World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (WFTGA): The global umbrella federation for accredited tourist guide associations. STGA is a member and its training is WFTGA-accredited; WFTGA operates at the international federation level rather than as a single-country operator.
• European Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (FEG):

Regional players

• Heart of England Tourist Guides Association: A UK regional tourist guide association operating in the West Midlands with a similar badge-based accreditation and member-directory model, though geographically narrower than STGA's Scotland-wide coverage.
• Irish Tourist Guide Association: Ireland's professional tourist guide membership body, structurally analogous to STGA with regional badge qualifications and a guide-finding directory, serving a similar inbound tourism market in a neighbouring jurisdiction.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/STGAGuides
• Facebookfacebook.com/STGAGuides

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Scottish Tourist Guides Association