It is with great sadness that we have to tell you that our President Peter Conway died suddenly and unexpectedly on 3rd April. He will be sorely missed within the guiding profession and in the Institute. We have included an obituary below which demonstrates the multi facetted and varied career that Peter had before becoming a Blue Badge Tourist Guide.

His family and friends are planning a celebration of his life sometime in May and we will keep you informed of time and place. Meanwhile, anyone wishing to make a contribution to his chosen charity can make a donation to:

Chance to Shine, The Cricket Foundation, Lord's Cricket Ground, London NW8 8QZ

Cricket, as some of you may know, was one of Peter's great loves.

Before Peter died, he had heard the news that all three guiding organisations had voted in favour of the principle of setting up a single professional body for tourist guiding. He was very much in favour of this concept and was looking forward to the next stage. This issue is a now a priority for the Institute and we will be looking for guidance and help in moving to the next stage. We will keep you informed.

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Peter Conway MITG MA(Oxon) 1938-2007

Tributes to Peter Conway, President of the Institute of Tourist Guiding, have been flooding in, following his sudden death on 4th April. His contribution to the tourist guiding profession over the past few years has been immense.

Peter was born in Manchester on 1st May 1938, and after the war his family moved to London. Thwarted in his efforts to get a National service posting that would allow him to learn Russian, he was sent to Hong Kong and learned Mandarin instead. After leaving the RAF, he gained a place at University College, Oxford to read French and Spanish.

His first job was in marketing for Unilever and even included a stint selling Stork margarine at Harrods. Abandoning ideas of studying to become a doctor, he started work in the travel industry as a courier with Clarksons. Within six years he had become Managing Director of Clarksons Tours Ltd.

From 1974 to 1988, in partnership with his wife Jennifer, he ran a highly acclaimed hotel and restaurant outside Bath, combining this successful venture with several consultancies and directorships in the travel industry. In 1987, he joined the tour operations arm of British Airways PLC, serving as MD of Speedbird Holidays (1989-91) and General Manager of BA Holidays Ltd from 1991 to 1993. Latterly he became a senior partner in a marketing and tourism consultancy.

Peter qualified as a London Blue Badge Guide in 2000. From the outset he was very proactive, attending guide events and networking enthusiastically. He was always ready to offer help in any capacity, from the mundane to the managerial. Individuals and professional bodies alike benefited from his considerable expertise in marketing and management.

In 2002 he was elected Chairman of the Driver Guides Association. An exemplary chair of meetings, he kept everyone focused on the agenda and stuck to a strict timetable - famously commenting "don't deal with sub-committee matters in a committee meeting". His good sense and effective management skills were generously placed at everyone's disposal. In three years at the helm he laid the foundations for the DGA to become an independent national body for Blue Badge driver guides, irrespective of other affiliation.

In 2003 he became a member of the Executive Council of the Guild of Registered Tourist Guides and was elected as a Trustee of the Institute of Tourist Guiding. His finely tuned marketing skills were soon put to good use, and he proved himself a brilliant fund raiser, never taking no for an answer from the various organizations he approached for sponsorship, prizes and advertising. In two years he raised over £20,000 for the Institute.

In November 2006 he became President of the Institute, dealing calmly and professionally with the challenges and controversies thrown up by the young Institute. His robust, energetic and common sense approach helped him to establish high profile contacts in Government and the Greater London Authority. The latter led to the 5th annual Consultative Council meeting being held in City Hall in March 2007, attended by key figures from the GLA, DCMS, VisitBritain and the wider tourist industry.

Keen to represent and promote the Institute wherever possible, he travelled to Birmingham for the British Travel Trade Fair, to Scotland to attend a meeting of the STGA and to Wales for the third annual Katrine Prince memorial lecture - all within one week.

Peter was an unequivocal supporter of a Single Professional Body for guides. He will have been pleased that the poll of guides conducted by the professional bodies, showed a significant majority in favour of the principle of an SPB. The results of the poll were published by The Guild & APTG the day before his death.

A member of the MCC, his interest in sport was legendary, being a senior guide at Lord's cricket ground and a keen follower of rugby and tennis. He swam daily and played golf regularly.

All who worked with Peter were impressed not only by his practical approach, but also by his generosity of spirit, kindness and good sense of humour. Constantly aware of 'the bigger picture', he always focused on exploring solutions instead of dwelling on problems. He had the rare combination of dynamism and diplomacy.

His loss will be strongly felt by those who worked with him, and by the many friends he made during his all too brief career as a tourist guide. We extend our deepest sympathies to his family; his wife Jennifer, son Charles and daughter Catherine, and to his many friends.