Guernsey Press

TripAdvisor certificate of excellence for tour guides

TOWN walk guides in Guernsey have received a certificate of excellence from the world’s biggest travel website for the second year in a row.

Published
The Town walk guides at the German Underground Hospital. (Picture by Steve Sarre, 22739003)

TripAdvisor has also given the same award individually to Bailiwick of Guernsey Guild of Accredited Guides president Gill Girard and to taxi driver Mike Mauger.

Mr Mauger conducts tours across the whole island. Mrs Girard has been a guide for 18 years and her itinerary includes Town, Lihou Island, German Occupation history sites, and a walk in the footsteps of Victor Hugo. She was also involved in helping the production team of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society film on their visits to the island.

‘For me, it’s nice to have recognition [by the award] that people enjoy what we do,’ she said.

Viv Wenman is one of the co-ordinators for the Town Walks team.

‘We started in 2013 with four people and there are now more than 20 of us,’ she said. ‘We are very passionate about what we do and Guernsey is such a beautiful island.

‘People are just amazed when they come here.’

Visitor numbers on the Town walks have exceeded 1,000 for the past two years. Numbers have been rising and 2018 looks to have been the busiest yet with a month on month increase of 14%.

Walker categories include Guernsey, UK, European and Rest of the World but the biggest increase is with cruise ship passengers which rose from 14% in 2016 to 26% last year.

The largest group of all is UK walkers, who usually account for 40% to 50% of the total.

The Bailiwick of Guernsey Guild of Accredited Guides now has more than 50 guides.

They provide bespoke tours that include ghost walks, private groups, themed nights, corporate functions, educational and excursions.

The Guild aims to promote and ensure all gold and silver accredited guides are quality assured. Gold and silver badges are awarded under a stringent training and assessment programme supported by the Guernsey College of Further Education.

Accreditation is validated by the marketing and tourism section of the Committee for Economic Development.

Guides make visits to various sites for educational reasons and for professional development, which was why some went to the German Underground Hospital on Saturday.