Meet Oban’s new town guides
AFTER intensive training, Oban’s new tour guides will soon be ready to show off the town to visitors – but they need your help to practice first.
When many cruise ships visited Oban over the summer, BID4Oban and the Port of Oban Cruise Group saw an opportunity to enhance visitors’ experiences of the town. They planned to organise daily tours for anyone visiting Oban in the summer months, called Oban Walking Tours.
Now 12 new tour guides are coming to the end of their two-week training by Scottish Tourist Guides Association instructors Patricia Blain and Stewart Wood.
You are invited to join free trial tours around the town’s history and culture to help the guides practice their patter. Those interested are asked to contact the BID4Oban office on 01631 569915.
One guide, Michelle McAnally, said: ‘Oban walking tours have been a long time coming. It is such a diverse group. Everyone has something to contribute. The thing that shines through is the passion. This group will be showcasing Oban and will be great at it.’
Another, Farooq Hamid, said: ‘I love the place. Belinda Carlisle must have visited here before she wrote Heaven is a Place On Earth. There is so much interesting scenery, culture and heritage.’
Oban High School student Rhona McCracken said she hoped her summer job could help encourage more young people to come to the area and appreciate its many charms, such as the music and seafood.
Elaine Robertson, chairwoman of the Port of Oban Cruise Group, said: ‘These are exciting times for the cruise group and establishing Yellow Badge Certified Guides to show off our town will keep Oban one step ahead in providing an excellent tourist experience.
Councillor Robertson added: ‘This town would be in a worse state if it were not for BID4Oban. BIDs does a huge amount in the town as our [the council] budgets go down.
Andrew Spence, chief executive of BID4Oban, agreed: ‘Yellow Badge Guides will further enhance what Oban has to offer visitors and encourage them to stay longer in the town.’
The new guides paid a contribution towards their training, but BID4Oban funded the training of the two pupils from Oban High School.
At last month’s BID4Oban annual general meeting, Mr Spence looked back over the first term’s successes, including free town wi-fi, new markets, sponsored fireworks displays on Bonfire Night and Hogmanay, 1,000 hanging baskets, painting of railings and bollard in the town and partnering with Argyll and Bute Council to put up Christmas lights.
Mr Spence also hailed more than 50 business improvement grants, the creation of town ambassadors, guides, markets and a diary, support for Oban Live, Oban Winter Festival, Motorfest and Oban and Lorn Tourism Alliance, worth tens of thousands of pounds, and the recent launch of Love Oban vouchers.
Looking ahead to the next five years, following a 75 per cent yes vote securing a mandate until 2022, Mr Spence set out BID4Oban's plans to extend town wi-fi and increase its business capability, help with improvements to pavements, lighting and floral displays on George Street, Argyll Street and Gibraltar Street, enter the Beautiful Scotland Awards, improve signs to the town centre, Glenshellach and Lochavullin commercial areas, promote Oban as a conference venue and create a new BID4Oban website with a business directory.
Mr Spence also set out his hopes to increase the board of directors from all sectors and increase the number of BID-led events.