Five tour guides have been presented with certificates of qualification and Manx blue badges.

The Guild of Manx Registered Tour Guides (GMRTG) is the island’s body for professionally qualified tour guides, and rewards memberships for those who have completed a training course and passed a series of examinations.

At a ceremony held in the office of the Department for Enterprise, five new guides were presented with their certificates of qualification and blue badges.

A total of seven guides qualified in April, with John Barker, Dave Mackey, Janine Shimmin, Jack Verity and Mark Watterson receiving their awards at the presentation, while Trevor Gibbs and Jacqueline Yates were unable to attend but also join the ranks of the island’s professional tour guides.

The award is jointly made by the department and the guild.

Minister for Enterprise Alex Allinson MHK presented the certificates and commended the guides for their hard work while studying, and stressed the importance of professionalism in explaining all aspects of the Isle of Man, such as its history and heritage, flora and fauna, the landscape and biosphere, to visitors.

The blue badges themselves are an award from the guild. The new guides received badges from guild chair David Killip.

The training course took place over 18 months under the leadership of tutor Andrew Foxon.