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 use 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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