Hi

[Geraldine]

..however i went to some visa assistance firms and they told me that its better if i just get a tourist visa and not include my bf...

Hi!

If you dont mention it in your application about your meeting with your bf, the ECO might ask you about this when you finally decided to apply for spouse/fiance visa. Things will be more complicated in my opinion. That happened to me and to someone else in this forum.