Representatives from Torbay Council have taken part in a fact finding tour for Hong Kong's senior Geopark officer.
Torbay is one of two Geoparks in England and there are 58 sites across the world. Now a site in Hong Kong is trying to win Geopark status.
As part of the three day tour, Hong Kong's senior Geopark officer, Ka Ming Yeung, visited the English Riviera Geopark following recommendations by the Global Geopark Network.
On Saturday, Sunday and Monday Ka Ming Yeung was shown around the English Riviera Geopark gateway sites, which include Torquay's Kents Cavern, the Seashore Centre in Goodrington and Brixham's Berry Head. He was also taken on a special Geopark cruise around Torbay.
Torbay Council's Cabinet Member for Community Services, Councillor Dave Butt, took part in the tour and said: "The visit was a great success and I'm delighted Torbay was chosen to host this tour. It was a fabulous opportunity to build a relationship with another country which could be awarded Geopark status in the near future.
"The Bay's Geopark status puts us on the international stage as an important heritage destination and helps sustain our economy and wildlife. It will help more people understand how the world around them came to be, and deepen their appreciation of the natural world. Under the global Geopark umbrella, we are promoting many more of Torbay's assets including our fabulous wildlife, marine biology, seagrass, dolphins, archaeological and geological heritage, and much more."
The English Riviera Geopark Co-ordinator, Mel Border, said: "Ka Ming Yeung was particularly impressed with the strength of our public private partnership and the quality of our Geopark sites. It was also very interesting to hear about Hong Kongs plans and due to the similarities between the two areas we also discussed the potential of a sister partnership between the two Geoparks. We hope a future partnership will provide many opportunites to share, learn and exchange ideas and best practices and to develop marketing and tourism opportunities."
