Dive Industry Association, Inc.

Adventure Travel Series
Destination:  South Africa
By Gene Muchanski, Editor
The Dive Industry Professional

Just three weeks ago, the staff of The Dive Industry Professional stepped out of its diving industry comfort zone and traveled across the globe to Johannesburg, South Africa, where we began a two-week safari adventure.  If you are wondering why there is an adventure safari article in a trade magazine dedicated to diving and Dive Industry Professionals, let me explain.  We are sharing this adventure with the global diving community for three reasons.

First:  Now that the Baby Boomer Generation has reached their retirement years, they are spending less time diving, on average, and more time looking for different ways to spend their recreational dollars.  Baby Boomers are no longer the largest group of divers in our global diving community.

Second:  Dive Travel Wholesalers and Dive Travel Specialists are starting to offer safari trips to their long-time diving clients.  We’ve seen the trend over the past fifty years go from local diving, to fly-to diving destinations, to liveaboards, to adventure travel, and now safaris.

Third:  Personally, I feel that divers are getting back to their original call to adventure.  On my very first safari, I felt that same call to adventure I experienced when I started diving 57 years ago.  I keep thinking back to a seminar Jean-Michele Cousteau gave at a travel show in Long Beach years ago.  He told the audience that he normally spoke at dive shows and surf expos but speaking at this adventure travel show reminded him that his life’s work was all about the adventure.  His words just hit home for me on this trip.  What we do as Dive Industry Professionals is all about the adventure.

So, does that make us all Adventure Travel Professionals?  It could.  How about Dive & Adventure Travel Professional?  Adventure Sports Professionals?  Whatever you decide is OK with me.  This is what the open door of opportunity looks like.  Have fun with it.

Safari Preparation:  Our Safari Adventure started months prior to departure.  The Adventure Travel Industry is very organized and thorough.  Upon booking our trip we received a step-by-step and day-by-day detailed itinerary.  Our travel wholesaler was very specific about our air and land transportation charges, lodging costs, and other taxes, fees, and charges.  We received a travel guide called “Your Trip” which included contact information for our travel advisors and escorts, flight information, itinerary summary, and day-to-day details including flights, transports, activities, and accommodations.  We received suggested travel routes, need to know information, and more information about the destination than you could shake a stick at.  I especially appreciated the detailed terms & conditions and cancellation policy documentation.  We even receive a brochure on “What to pack on Safari.”  All that information got three-hole punched on put in our 3-ring binder, which we referred to every day during the entire trip.

We Flew Delta Airlines:  We flew Delata Airlines from Melbourne, Florida to Atlanta, GA and then non-stop to Johannesburg, South Africa.   Our Pilots were able to shave two hours off our 15-hour 45-minute scheduled flight.  We were greeted upon arrival and escorted to our hotel at the airport for an overnight stay before flying out to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.  We found that South Africans are very friendly and those associated with the tourism business work hard for their money.  Our travel wholesaler always had someone meet us at every point of our journey to escort, drive, or fly us to the next point.  It was just the two of us traveling and at no point in our two-week adventure were we ever alone and unescorted.  That is my number one reason for using a professional travel wholesaler.

City Lodge Hotel at O.R. Tambo International Airport:  It was a short walk from baggage claim to the City Lodge Hotel.  Our escort told us all about South Africa along the way and brought us up to the hotel check in desk, where we confirmed our reservations.  As we were checking in, we met a group of divers from Tampa, Florida who were on their way to dive with the Great White Sharks off Cape Town.  Unfortunately, they did not have reservations, and the hotel was booked solid.  Another reason to use a professional Dive Travel Wholesaler.

Continuing on to Zimbabwe:  After a lovely breakfast at City Lodge Hotel we were escorted to our Airlink gate for a two-hour flight to Victoria Falls Airport in Zimbabwe.  After clearing customs and paying our $30 per person fee to enter the country, we were met by Wild Horizons Driver, Biggs, who transported us to The Palm River Hotel, where we would stay for two days and two nights.  The Palm River Hotel is a beautiful resort on the river where you can see the monkeys playing in the trees while listening to the Hippos calling from the river. We enjoyed a Sundowner River Cruise before dinner and had our first opportunity to photograph African Elephants, Hippos, Crocodiles, and Monkeys along the riverbanks.  Our first dining experience in South Africa did not disappoint.  The Chef who resides at the Palm River Hotel was amazing.

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe:  After breakfast the next morning, Wild Horizons picked us up in their van for the Victoria Falls Classic Tour, which would be followed by lunch at Lookout Café.  Even though it is currently winter in Zimbabwe, there is plenty of water going over Victoria Falls.  There are 18 viewing points to photograph the falls from and each point gives you a different perspective of the falls.  The 2.5 mile walking tour is absolutely breathtaking and is something that everyone should put on their bucket list.  We even got to photograph the daring individuals across the river in Botswana who were sitting in protected pools at the very edge of the falls.  It looked pretty risky from where we were standing!

We ended our tour of Victoria Falls with lunch at Lookout Café.  I was starting to wonder why they called our lunch place, Lookout Café.  Was it because of the magnificent view of the waterfalls, the canyon, and the river below?  Or was it the fact that the café and your table sits right on the edge of the cliff?  No wall, no window.  Just a little glass banister that you can lean on and look straight down.

We ended our second day in Zimbabwe with dinner at The Palm River Hotel, and again enjoyed a perfect meal.  After just three days in Africa, we were already in love with our new destination.

The Safari Begins:  Wild Horizons picked us up after breakfast and drove us back to Victoria Falls Airport for a Fastjet Airlines flight to Kruger Airport in South Africa.  After clearing South Africa customs and not having to pay a country entrance fee, we proceeded with Sable Tours for transfer to Shumbalala Game Lodge in Hoedspruit, South Africa.  It was a very scenic three-hour drive to Shumbalala but our driver made the time go by quickly.  We saw a great deal of the South African countryside and learned a lot about the local population and culture.  When we got off the paved roads and entered the dirt roads of the Kruger National Park, our safari really began.  On the way to the lodge we saw elephant, giraffe, zebra, and many other animals we have never seen in the wild.

Shumbalala Game Lodge:  Shumbalala means “Where the Lion Sleeps.”   The lodge has six superior suites and a Guest capacity of 12.  Their staff of 40 is on call, night and day to make your travel safari experience rememberable.  The suites are well designed with king-size netted beds, sitting area with fireplace, large bathroom with toilet, twin vanities, tub, and large glass shower.  Every superior suite has an outdoor dip pool.  The lodge has three Toyota Land Cruisers that each seat six passengers, a  Field Guide (the driver) and a Tracker.  Two of the three cruisers leave for safari game drive every morning at 6:15 am and again at 3:15 pm.  The third cruiser is for rotation purposes.  Field Guides are full time employees who work six weeks straight then enjoy a two-week holiday.  We were fortunate to have Field Guides Bryce Mitchell for our first two days followed by Jordi for our second two days.  Tony was our Tracker for the entire 4 days.  Our Hostesses at Shumbalala were Joanna, Danielle, and Andi.  They made us feel at home the entire four days.  The rest of the staff and especially the Chef were beyond fabulous.  Always the perfect and ever-changing menus for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but if you requested something off-menu, they made it happen.  The Shumbalala Game Lodge gratuity guideline handout quotes Mahatma Gandhi – “The best way to find yourself, is to lose yourself in the service of others.”   The Shumbalala staff certainly lived up to that quote.

We had four days at Shumbalala to compare our African Safari vacation to the scuba diving trips we normally take.  Staying at Shumbalala was like staying with family.  The lodge and the safari game drives were totally integrated.  The lodge staff and the safari staff work together as one team.  In the diving industry we normally have a contracted dive operator at a large resort or hotel.  That disconnect between two separate companies causes scheduling conflicts.  i.e. missed meals because of diving scheduling.  There was no over-tourism at the game lodge.  Twelve guests were taken on safari twice a day in two vehicles, with their own field guides and trackers.  They went on separate routes but were in contact with each other via radio.  Our group experienced eight different routes throughout the game reserve in four days.  We never took the same route twice.  It’s different with diving tourism.   It is very common to see 100 divers from five or six dive boats all diving the same reef at the same time.   Safari game drives are lucky to be able to take people to where the animals are, but in diving we have to pick a dive site that has a history of nice things to see, and hope for the best.  The problem is that too many dive operators dive a limited number of dive sites, and they all go there at the same time.  That has to change.   Cattle boat tourism is going to be the death of resort diving as we know it.

Tanda Tula Safari Camp:  After four wonderful days on safari at Shumbalala, it was time to travel to our next destination, Tanda Tula Safari Camp.  Our next camp was in the private reserve of Timbavati, on the outskirts of the Greater Kruger National Park.  Sable Tours & Transfers arranged ground transportation to the camp and in less than two hours we were there.  Tanda Tula means “The Quiet Place.”  The camp has 11 Safari Suites and accommodates 22 people.  Up until last year, when the camp was completely reconstructed, Tanda Tula was a Luxury Safari Camp with luxury safari tents.  To our delight, all we saw was Luxury Safari Suites.  If this is camping, I’m all in.  Our suite included an open floor plan containing a king size bed, sitting room, bar, large bathroom with twin vanities, free standing tub, and a shower to die for.  It’s so big I think they could wash baby elephants in it.  For the outdoors person in you there is a large outdoor shower, a large deck with patio furniture and a 3-meter-deep dip pool.  I posted some pictures of our suite on facebook and said we were “camping” at Tanda Tula, only to get replies from my friends calling it “glamping” or “nice tent.”  I do have to say that we did have beautiful canvas on the walls.   See for yourself.

Tanda Tula did not disappoint.  The staff was incredible.  Professional, personal, and eager to please.  The food and drinks were plentiful and delicious.  The diversity in the menu selection was admirable.  The safari drives were amazing, and memories of those four days will last forever.  Tanda Tula had five Toyota Land Cruises, four for daily use and one for rotation.  Each cruiser carried six passengers, a Field Guide (Driver), and Tracker.  We did not have six passengers on every game drive, and twice it was just the two of us.

We were fortunate to have Chad Cocking as our Field Guide and Jack as our Tracker.  Jack has been a local Tracker for 35 years and has the reputation as being the most knowledgeable and intuitive tracker in the region.  His bush skills were impressive.  Chad Cocking has been a certified FGASA (Field Guides Association South Africa) Field Guide for 17 years and has written two books on Africa’s wild landscapes.  His latest coffee-table book, Contrasts, depicts the contrasts of Africa’s ever-changing landscapes.  Maybe it was beginner’s luck to get Chad as our Field Guide, but it was delightful to have an experienced Field Guide with 17 years of safari experience and being such an accomplished photographer.  Chad knew when to stop for photographs and when to press farther into the bush.  He also knew more about the local animals than you can imagine.  We learned so much about South Africa wildlife it was remarkable.  We like to think of Chad as our South African Mick Dundee!

Lessons for the Diving Industry:  We learned a lot about another Adventure Travel Industry sector and the common bonds that our Divemasters share with Safari Field Guides.  There are many similarities between the diving industry and the adventure travel industry.  Maybe the future of our industry will be a combination of the diving, adventure, travel, tourism, and hospitality industries?  Perhaps we can learn from each other to better serve our customers and grow our niche markets?

In summary:  Two weeks in South Africa and Zimbabwe turned out to be the trip of a lifetime.  Definitely a trip that should be on everyone’s bucket list.  We may even go again…soon.  Speaking as an adventure traveler, I would recommend going with a small group of friends to share the experience.  I would also highly recommend the use of a dive travel wholesaler to arrange the trip for you.  Both of our Members, Roatan Charter and Dream Weaver Travel are now offering African Safaris.  Check with Debbie Helms at Roatan Charter or Steve Weaver at Dream Weaver Travel.

For more information about our Global Diving Business Network, contact Gene Muchanski, Executive Director, Dive Industry Association Inc., 2294 Botanica Circle, West Melbourne, FL 32904.  Phone: 321-914-3778.  Email: gene@diveindustry.net  Web: www.diveindustry.net

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Becoming Customer Centric
 by Gene Muchanski, Editor
The Dive Industry Professional

How many times have you heard the phrase; The Customer is King?  Well, it’s true.  At least in the business world.  There is also another phrase that you may have heard often, even though some people have debated it from time to time.  The phrase is, The customer is always right.  Whether or not you agree with these two phrases is up to you, but as Dive Industry Professionals it behooves us to understand the dynamics between buyers and sellers in the economic environment of the recreational diving industry.  Who is the focal point in your business?  Is it you or the customer?

As recreational divers we are all consumers of diving programs, products, and services.  They are produced and distributed by over 8,000 businesses worldwide that specialize mainly in diving equipment, services, training, travel, and lifestyle products.  For a small industry (or niche market), that makes it a very competitive market for the producers and sellers.  As buyers, divers have the option to choose the best suppliers for their diving needs, wants, and desires.  They have the choice to choose the diving equipment companies that are best for them.  The same goes for choosing one of the 35 training agencies that meet our training needs.  And when it comes to travel, we have an almost unlimited number of choices of how we spend our recreational dollars.  That’s the power of independence in the marketplace.  Of course, this type of independence and power comes to us as a result of a capitalistic, free market economy, where people work for a living, receive a paycheck for their labor, and are free to spend their discretionary dollars on whatever they need, want, and desire.    So much for Economics 101.

As a Dive Industry Professional, you are on the front lines of all the economic development activity between producers and consumers and between buyers and sellers.  If you are in the business of selling your diving programs, products and services, then you may think of yourself as one of the Global Diving Business Warriors of our Industry.   But let’s put that into a 21^st century perspective.  Global commerce is not a war between producers and consumers.  It is a partnership between buyers and sellers.  In the global diving community, divers need, want, and desire diving equipment programs, products, and services.  The producers of these products have built their businesses around fulfilling the needs of their customers.  They are in the business of satisfying their customers’ needs.  That is what being customer centric is all about.  The customer is King, even if they are right or not.

One of the best marketing programs I have ever taught deals with consumer behavior and the psychographics of why people buy what they buy.  Customer Base Management has always been one of the three most important parts of running a successful business.  The other two deal with products and marketing.  Let’s look at them first.

Product management is all about creating the right product at the right price for a customer who has the need, want, desire, and ability to acquire it.  Modern day marketing was developed to ensure that producers were designing and creating products that were more likely to be purchased by consumers.  Producers that are customer-centric have a higher propensity to create the right products for the right customers.  Producers that are self-centered and only produce to their core competency usually end up with a warehouse full of unsellable products.   That is why you will see marketing professionals working in product development with the designers and engineers at some of the more successful diving equipment companies.

The creation and use of marketing vehicles in the sales process would be tremendously ineffective and wasteful if a customer-centric strategy were not implemented.  Your marketing message needs to be designed for the eyes and ears of the prospective end users that the products were developed for.  Once your target-specific message has been created, your marketing vehicle needs to be chosen according to your targeted audiences’ media preferences.  With the proper message and the selection of the correct marketing vehicle, your marketing efforts will have a higher chance of success if your message reaches their target, where they are, and when they are ready to make a purchasing decision.  Your professionally persuasive “call to action” will hopefully help them make the correct purchasing decision which is buy from us and buy now.  Customer-centric marketing professionals understand the power and effectiveness of target marketing, target-specific messaging, and target-rich destinations.

As a degreed Marketing Professional, I am a firm believer in target marketing.  Primarily because marketing and advertising is so consuming in time, money, and manpower.  Yes, marketing is expensive, and no one can afford to market to everyone.  Well, maybe Microsoft and Facebook can.  But in the diving industry, we have to create a marketing strategy that brings in the most results with the least expense.  The biggest bang for the buck, so to speak.  Our marketing campaigns have to be professionally conducted yet financially cost-effective.  Target marketing is the only way to go and the key to effective target marketing is to be customer-centric in our approach.

The advantage of adopting a customer-center strategy in your diving business is that you will position yourself as a legitimate professionally run operation.  An operation that is not desperate for sales and customers.  We all see too many diving companies bombarding us with way too many emails with the same message, over and over again.  They use email exclusively because email is cheap.  Is that how you want your customers to think of you?  If I subscribe to your magazine, that means I want to hear from you once a month, not receive three emails from you every week.  If I became an instructor with you in 1975, there probably is no reason to send me three emails a week, asking me to take your advance course, now is there?  By using what I call shotgun, mass mailings, you are wasting value company resources in time, money, and manpower and you are running the risk of losing customers forever.  Your company needs to adopt a customer-centric marketing approach and learn about target marketing strategies.  Our Association can help you with that.  Just send me an email – once!

I will summarize this article and end with a final reason to adopt a customer-centric strategy.  A business becomes successful and survives because it meets the needs of its customers.  Any business is only as good as its last interaction with a customer of theirs.  In business, we have three types of customers.  Current, Former, and Future.  Our most important is our current customers.  Our business should always keep in touch with them and survey them from time to time to check to see if we are currently meeting their needs.  Spend the time to learn about your current customers and keep asking them if there are any other products or services they would like you to offer.  Your former customers are the ones that have not done business with you in the last 12 months.  Contact them every 6 months or so and find out what they have been up to and if there is any way to regain their patronage?  Future customers, or what we call prospects, are expensive and time consuming to reach.  Our suggestion is to do your research about their demographics and try your best to target their specific needs.  Then reach out to them.

If a consumer-centric strategy is not currently on your plate, it may be soon.  There is a trend beginning in the travel and hospitality industries, concerning over-tourism and restrictive tourism.  That may or may not be a problem for the airline industry or the cruise industry, because they are dealing with their passenger capacity and the economic impact they have on their destinations.  The scuba diving industry is already feeling the pressure of over tourism in spotted locations.  I have heard negative reports about dive operators who take out 60-100 divers or more every morning, and they all go to the same reef at the same time.  That’s not good for the environment and that’s not good for the long-term success of the industry.  Maybe that is why the Mexican government recently closed five Cozumel reefs to help them recover from a daily load of divers (Riviera Maya News).  More of this is bound to occur in the future unless the industry can come up with solutions that are acceptable to the consumer, the dive operator, and the environment.  We need to do what is best for our customers.

This is an exciting time to become part of the Global Diving Business Network.  For more information about customer-centric marketing strategies, contact Gene Muchanski, Executive Director of the Dive Industry Association, 2294 Botanica Circle, West Melbourne, FL 32904.  Phone: 321-914-3778.  Email: gene@diveindustry.net  Web: www.diveindustry.net

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DIVE LOCAL™ – A Community Effort
Building a Local Diving Community
Message to Local Divers
By Gene Muchanski, Executive Director,
Dive Industry Association, Inc.

Go Diving – The Reason We Get Certified

The best way to build a thriving global diving community is to show people how they can become active scuba divers and enjoy a great recreation for a lifetime. 

Four Steps to Becoming an Active Scuba Diver:

• Learn to Dive
• Buy Your Gear
• Go Diving
• Stay Active

The main reason people get certified is to go diving.  At some point in their life, they came to a conclusion that diving was something they would like to do.  When I was fifteen years old there were hardly any scuba divers in my hometown.  As I remember, there were only two.  After watching Sea Hunt and The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau on television, I made a decision to go diving.  I heard from a friend that people were scuba diving at the Bridgeport, Connecticut YMCA pool, so we decided to check it out.  Little did I know at the time, but the fledging diving industry was already starting to set up roadblocks for people who just wanted to go diving.  Lucky for me, the scuba diving going on at the YMCA pool were really “try outs” for a scuba class that YMCA Instructor Brain Rose was going to teach.  I learned in the scuba course that you couldn’t go diving until you took scuba lessons, which wasn’t actually true, but by the end of the course I could see why that made sense.

After I got certified, my desire to go diving increased exponentially.  The only problem was finding a dive buddy.  So I did what every 15-year-old would do, I bought two sets of gear and took my friends diving.  I even taught our City’s Civil Defense Patrol how to dive and clean river bottoms.  When the Federal Government (ATF) needed a diver to dive the Connecticut River in the middle of the winter, guess who got Federal permission to skip school and go diving with their Agents?  Yeah, being a certified diver back then was a big thing.  In the years to come, I became part of the movement to organize the diving industry and get active scuba divers to become certified scuba instructors and teach classes to people who wanted to go diving.  Now when we take people diving, they are knowledgeable about what they are doing, and they are doing it as safely as possible.

When I spoke about the diving industry creating roadblocks for people who expressed an interest to go diving, let me say that I am glad they did.  Scuba Diving is an exciting activity, and it could be safe to participate in, but it does have its risks and can be hazardous to untrained individuals.  So, it is a good thing that we require divers to become certified and we limit the sale of underwater life support equipment to people who have been properly trained with it.  As an Industry, we need to define the type of diving that people can participate in and offer the correct amount of training and supervision that corresponds to that type of diving.The industry’s focus should be to encourage people to go diving.  Of course, we want them to do it according to their desire, interest, training, and ability.  One method of introducing people to our recreation is to offer an Introduction to Scuba experience. Scuba introductions can be conducted in a pool or in a confined water environment.  There is usually some type of pre-dive instruction, including pre-screening medical and legal liability release.  The introduction itself is offered by a certified scuba instructor, who supervises the entire process.  For travelers looking for more than a one-time scuba experience, many dive resorts and dive operators conduct a Supervised Resort Course.  While not being a complete certification course, resort courses fill the gap between an introduction and a complete certification.  Resort course curriculum varies depending on the Training Agency that authorizes their licensed instructors to conduct them.  Resort courses normally include medical pre-screening, legal liability waivers, some type of classroom instruction, confined water training, and supervised open water dives.  The supervised open water dives usually take place on shallow reefs.

The Importance of Introductory Follow-up:  Care must be taken to turn an Introduction to Scuba Experience and a Resort Course into an opportunity that takes the participant to the next level of their scuba diving adventure.  Too many times, the participants are never referred to a Dive Industry Professional in their hometown, after their experience.  This is a loss to the entire industry.  The first thing the initial instructor must do is make sure that their introductory diver or resort diver enjoys the process of diving under supervision.  If they have a bad experience, they will not pursue diving as a recreation, but if they enjoy the experience, they will be encouraged to continue with their diving education and diving activity when they get home.  I have a question for the diving industry.  How do we get the destination instructors to refer their new divers to a hometown diving professional?

Go Diving – During a Certification Course:  What better way to instill a positive Go Diving attitude in a new scuba student than to complete their open water training at a diving destination resort?  It is best if the initial local instructor travels with their students to a resort destination to complete their training, but that is not always the case.  In Gene’s perfect world, a local diving instructor would be creating a customer for life if they taught their classes, advised their students on the proper diving equipment for their needs, and accompted their class to a dive destination to complete their certification process.  But even if an instructor cannot conduct the open water training at a fly-to diving destination, the student can still finish their open water course at a resort via a referral system.  The referral system still encourages the Go Diving concept.

One advantage of taking your entire scuba class to a fly-to diving resort to complete their open water training is that your students will be properly introduced to your store’s travel services.  The comradery created by diving with your whole class on a trip arranged by your store’s travel department may even lead your new students to the final concept we call Stay Active.  If they enjoy diving with their classmates and instructor maybe they will consider joining your club and staying active?

Go Diving After Certification:  The Global Diving Community is all about…well, Diving!  Diving is the reason we take lessons.  Diving is the reason we buy diving equipment and spend tens of thousands of dollars on underwater photography equipment.  And diving is the reason we travel half-way around the world to stay at a dive resort or on a Liveaboard dive vessel.  Training, equipment and travel are just a means to an end.  The end outcome is Diving.  And if we focus our business on the end outcome, all of the things that get us there will come to us naturally.  It’s called the assumptive close.

As a Professional Business Advisor & Consultant, I help companies that specialize in diving, to acquire new customers, retain current customers, and recapture former customers.  I help diving companies strategically plan for an increased customer base, gain additional market share, design cost effective sales and marketing campaigns, and operate more professionally, productively, and profitably.  I have helped many diving companies understand the process of moving programs, products, and services from conception to consumption, through the established channels of distribution.  I have laid solid foundations for companies who want to become Masters of Marketing by excelling at selling enough profitable products to enough profitable customers to gain a commanding market share and a competitive edge in a declining market.  The entire Global Diving Business Network works more smoothly when the process of bringing buyers and sellers together is strategized in a step-by-step logical order.  I believe that an integrated marketing strategy is the key to a successful dive business operation.  So, the end goal of the recreational diving industry is to get divers to go diving.  But where does the selling process start?

The Dive Travel Channel of Distribution:   The top of the supply chain for dive travel starts with the Tourism Bureaus of the dive destination countries.  They may go by different names such as Tourism Boards, Tourism Bureaus, Tourism Authority, or Convention and Visitors Bureaus, but they all are formed to promote tourism in their country.  Every country in the world that welcomes tourists is competing with all the other countries who rely on tourism dollars.  Granted, not all countries want tourists.  But that’s another story.  Even the United States does not have a national Bureau of Tourism, although we have heard rumors that one is about to be created.  We do have numerous Country, State, and City Tourism Boards.  The best example of a County Tourism Bureau is the Monroe County Tourism Development Council representing The Florida Keys and Key West.  The Florida Keys and Key West has been an active member of the Dive Industry Association for 22 years and promotes watersports businesses throughout the Florida Keys, which is the southern point of the Watersports Capital of the World.  Their marketing department has created outstanding  advertising campaigns designed to appeal to vacationers who are considering their next vacation.  Welcome to the Florida Keys and Key West!

Tourism Bureaus are funded by their governments through various taxes like local sales tax or what we call bed taxes.  They use their advertising budgets to staff tourism offices in major cities around the world.  Tourism Bureaus spend an enormous amount of money advertising on television and in print magazines.  I know of at least 50 Tourism Bureaus that have been active exhibitors over the years at the DEMA Show and at numerous travel shows in the United States.  Among the 26 international Tourism Bureaus exhibiting at the DEMA Show this fall will be the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority.  Another active member in the Dive Industry Association, the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority is a frequent exhibitor at trade shows, works very well with the major dive resorts and dive operators on their island, has excellent working relationships with the major Dive Travel Wholesalers in the diving industry, and sponsors FAM trips for Dive Store Travel Specialists.

Choosing a Dive Resort or Liveaboard:  Once a dive traveler has picked the country, island, or dive destination they would like to go to, the next logical step is choosing the best dive resort, dive operator, or Liveaboard to go with.  This part of the purchasing process may be a little too overwhelming for the average dive travel.  It certainly is for the dive travel specialists at Retail Dive Centers across the country.  Many dive travelers do their travel research online.  That may be a good idea to get you started, but it is always best to get a recommendation or referral from a dive travel specialist who knowns the destination before making your decision.

As Dive Travel Advisors, the Dive Industry Association created a Travel Directory of our Members who are engaged in Dive Travel.  You can peruse our Travel Directory for a list of our Travel Members.  Our directory is broken down by company name, by category, and by location.  By company name, you can see all our travel members.  By category, you can research Tourism Bureaus, Dive Resorts, Dive Operators, and Liveaboards.  By clicking on any of our Dive Travel Wholesalers you can see the dive destinations they offer.  Our Association also publishes the only Industry Trade Directory and Buyers Guide Dive in the diving industry and it is update every month.  Dive Travelers looking to book a dive travel vacation can always see what is available on he market by downloading a copy of our Trade Directory and Buyers Guide Dive.

Working With Dive Travel Wholesalers:  Dive Travel Wholesalers are Travel Advisors (aka Travel Agents) who work with Dive Travel Specialists to help them book group trips for their customers.  Travel Advisors can book travel for individual travelers as well. We have three Dive Travel Wholesalers in our Association.  Each of them has an impressive portfolio of travel destinations, dive resorts, dive operators, and Liveaboards.  Wholesalers are the link between the supply chain and the demand chain of the dive travel channel of distribution.  A common mistake we all make in the diving industry at one time or another is thinking we can book every aspect of a dive trip ourselves, until we have a travel breakdown halfway around the globe.  I use Roatan Charter as my Dive Travel Wholesaler for everything I don’t know how to do or don’t have time and patience for.  More than once has Debbie Helms has come to my rescue to fix a flight cancellation or resort blunder in the middle of the night, far away from home.  The thing you have to understand about Dive Travel Wholesalers is that they have great working relationships with their vendors, and they have an extensive knowledge about how the global dive travel industry works.  They usually can get you the best service, the best perks, and the best prices.  And when your travel plans go wrong, they know how to make changes or get refunds.  Dive Travel Wholesalers often publish an annual catalog of the Dive Resorts and Liveaboards they work with.  Check out Roatan Charter’s 2024 Destination Catalog to the properties they represent.

If you are looking to work with a Dive Travel Wholesaler who came from a retail dive store background, then check out Steve Weaver from Dream Weaver Travel.  For over 40 years, Steve has traveled and dove the globe from his dive store and travel agency in Boulder, Colorado.  As Steve often says, “Let our experience work for you…We’ve been there!”

But maybe you want to dive travel with your children or send them off to diving summer camp with a group of youngsters and some great adult supervision.  Then Margo Peyton from Kids Sea Camp and Family Divers is the person and company we recommend.  Kids Sea Camp has a wonderful reputation for diving with kids.  Margo Peyton is THE industry pioneer in Kids & Family Diving.

Working with Dive Travel Specialists:  A large percentage of dive travel in our industry is conducted by Retail Dive Centers who are experienced at booking group trips.  Depending on how long the store has been running dive trips, they may be knowledgeable about many of the popular dive destinations around the globe, and in particular, the resort you will be staying at.  The big advantage to traveling with a group is that you have a group leader who is in charge of the trip organization.  Most likely they have been to that resort destination before and is familiar with the resort, the dive operator, and the geographic location.  A group leader should be knowledgeable about the boats and diving equipment rentals the dive operator uses.  They should also be familiar with the local diving environment and any operational restrictions that may be imposed on the guests.  They may have insight into the local restaurants and shopping areas and if it is in a foreign country, the local language, monetary system, and exchange rates.  There is a lot to be said about traveling and diving with friends from your local diving community.  Having familiar faces to dive with and spending your after-dive hours with friends makes the trip more enjoyable and memorable.

Traveling as an Individual:  Traveling by yourself or with your dive buddy is always an option.  You assume all the risk by conducting your own research and travel planning.  There is plenty of content on the internet about dive destinations.  I can’t speak for the validity of the information that is posted but I can tell you that Dive Industry Professionals across the globe are usually eager to share their dive travel experiences with fellow divers.

Summary:  Regardless of whether you are a buyer or seller of dive travel, keep in mind that the recreational diving industry succeeds or fails based on whether or not people go diving.  To grow the industry we need to promote both local diving and not-local dive destinations.  If it ever gets to a point that divers stop diving, then you can forget about teaching diving or selling equipment.  The main reason we teach diving and sell equipment is so that people will go diving.  GO DIVING is the diving industry’s preferred outcome and the number one priority.

For more information on becoming a Member of our Global Diving Business Network, contact Gene Muchanski, Executive Director, Dive Industry Association, Inc., 2294 Botanica Circle, West Melbourne, FL.  Phone 321-914-3778. Email: gene@diveindustry.net  web: www.diveindustry.net

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