Man says Devon geopark 'is of no benefit to Torquay'

Kents Cavern, one of Devon's most ancient tourist attractions, could be set for a major revamp under ambitious plans proposed by its new owners, the Tudor Hotel Collection. The prehistoric caves in Torquay, often referred to as Britain's oldest home due to its early human habitation, was acquired by the hotel group last year.

The new proprietors have grand designs to pour millions into the visitor attraction, with the aim of transforming this "hidden gem" into a leading tourist hotspot and a hub for Stone Age education in the UK.

This proposed multi-million pound investment would mark an unprecedented chapter in the long history of Kents Cavern - a cave complex first formed more than 2.5 million years ago and were once occupied by prehistoric humans and Ice Age animals. The goal is to elevate an already popular site to new heights, fully realising its potential as a location of national historical significance. The site forms part of the English Riviera UNESCO Global Geopark.

One person, writing into our sister print title the Herald Express, says that news there will be considerable investment going into Kents Cavern by the new owners is to be welcomed.

But he's questioned the point of the geopark - a protected area with internationally significant geology - and says that the public have little to no interest in it. And he believes the new owners of Kents Cavern should be the ones responsible for funding the geopark's marketing and not taxpayers, given its symmetry with the caves.

Read the full letter below

News there will be considerable investment going into Kents Cavern by the new owners is to be welcomed.

But with this fresh start, one issue related to the caves should be reassessed; that is, the geopark and who pays: Kents Cavern or council taxpayers?

Having worked in tourism and run my own tourism related business locally for some 25 years, I have never been asked about the geopark.

OK, it could be said the tourism sector – the coach trade – I worked in is not totally representative even though I have come into contact with a lot of people and 71% of visitors locally are over 55. Accepting that, I asked local hoteliers how many of their guests had enquired about the geopark.

One said none, another said a couple. Another acquaintance at a local attraction said they didn’t add info about the geopark to their website because they didn’t really know what it was. I also asked neighbours where the geopark was. I got blank looks but then one has only lived in Torquay for eight years.

I can accept this will not be wholly persuasive given the unscientific nature of my survey. But if you don’t want to take my anecdotal words for it, have a look at what the local tourism bureaucrats say in the council’s destination management plan.

Here they state that: “The Unesco Global Geopark designation is important, but often underused and misunderstood.”

Well, in my view, you can say that again. It is one of the most honest and possibly most accurate statements about the geopark that I have come across and is in accord with my own experience.

However, it goes on to say that: ‘‘While geoparks are often not well understood by visitors, the Unesco designation nonetheless brings with it a reputation for quality and distinctiveness that should be the foundations for destination development.”

This is a rank form of bureaucratic elite-speak meaning: “The plebs don’t get it, but as we know so much better, let’s carry on throwing money at it.”

And that’s public money with the geopark management group having become a bureaucratic monster/talking shop with ongoing costs to the council of some £50,000 per annum according to the geopark management plan 2023-2033.

This includes a full time geopark co-ordinator on about £700 per week plus three part time posts for a senior project officer, a marketing communication officer and a project officer. Wow!

I can see for Kents Cavern the geopark is of interest.

But as a general selling point for mass tourism in Torbay?

Nah. It’s not working.

As someone said to me, if you want to sell geology, big time, get yourself a Grand Canyon, some Alps, perhaps a Niagara Falls. Then you will sell geology. Otherwise ... Nah.

Of course, our natural environment is vitally important and should be one of Torbay’s USPs, up front and centre.

But that should be on the basis of the beauty of our scenery. It’s the old adage for a salesperson – if you want to sell something, use the Kiss formula: Keep it simple, stupid!

For a prospective visitor living and working in the urban sprawl of Birmingham, say, Torbay is a scenic paradise.

As for selling the landscape, that’s quite enough, thank you. The rock that goes down big in Brum is already provided by Black Sabbath & ELO.

Don’t try to be clever, don’t think the geopark will help us go upmarket.

It clearly hasn’t worked on the admission of the local tourism bureaucrats, and after how long? Seventeen years is it now?

If you want to test the effectiveness of all the money that has been spent marketing the geopark, just ask a local where it is.

If, like me, you find they haven’t really got a clue, then also ask, particularly if you work in tourism, why should anyone else, apart from Kents Cavern, particularly now that millions are being invested there, keep on trying to flog this dead geopark?

Alan Payling

Torquay