Bermuda Crystal Cave and Fantasy Cave are being visited by owners and operators of showcaves from around the globe this week.

The Island has become the only destination outside Europe to host the International Showcave Congress, which every four years brings together cave attraction specialists and owners to share experiences and information.

On the agenda will be discussions about the dangers to health presented by naturally occurring alpha radiation in caves, the damage that can be done by mosses and algae that grow as a result of artificial lighting being introduced to commercial caves and ways to promote caves as visitor attractions.

Bermuda beat China and South Korea to win the right to host the world event, which started at the Grotto Bay Beach Resort yesterday.

During their stay in Bermuda, the delegates will be shown around Crystal Cave, Fantasy Cave and Admiral Cave, explained president of The Crystal Caves of Bermuda David Somers.

?The congress is a mixture of owners and operators of showcaves. We are the custodians of natural features and amongst the things that will be discussed are the matter of safety for visitors and staff within caves and the education of the public about caves,? he said. Amongst the countries represented at the Bermuda gathering are Sweden, Slovakia, Slovenia, Italy, Germany, Austria, France, USA, Australia and South Africa.

It was hoped a delegation from China would attend but they were prevented due to problems with US visa arrangements. Likewise, the South Korean party was unable to travel because they are dealing with the aftermath of a typhoon that caused damage to showcaves within their country.

Premier Alex Scott and Environment Minister Randy Horton greeted the international delegates in St. George?s on Sunday as they were shown around the town before enjoying a meal at the Carriage House Restaurant.

Mr. Somers said: ?These are the things we have on the agenda. It gives showcave operators the chance to gather and collaborate and this leads to improvements.

?We are in the business of sharing ideas that are successful and also those that are unsuccessful as we can learn from those.?