justice, socioeconomic transformation and spatial reorgan- isation. Moreover, there has been little research undertaken into tangible issues related to empowerment and disempow- erment of various stakeholders within the host community and to the authority given to communities by external au- thorities to make decisions, and control tourism activities. The discussion continues amongst researchers with some claiming no universally acceptable definition of sustainable tourism exists that alone can we easily find a definition that may suit the LTS of the dive industry sectors. Nevertheless, it appears from the literature there is a need for a working definition of LTS and for dive industry stakeholders to recognise high degrees of communication between all parts of the tourism sector are necessary, along with a cooperative approach towards defining sustainability at all levels. There also needs to be a cooperative approach towards sustain- ability, especially since tourism is viewed in parts of the lit- erature as being multidimensional, possessing physical, social, cultural, political and economic characteristics. Although researchers have attempted the difficult task of defining sustainability, these efforts have commonly ex- plained what it should be, rather than what it really is or whether it even exists at all. In the dive industry’s case, the discussion that must follow is that sustainability, especially LTS is about both production and consumption of diving products and services. Furthermore, I would assert that sus- tainability is now one of the most common topics used in discussions regarding our industry. Therefore, apart from being one of the concepts least understood by both aca- demics and diving industry participants, we are still a very long way from reaching a consensus regarding its definition and more so its actual application to various sectors of our industry. From a practical perspective, and as a possible way for- ward, it is probably highly appropriate for us to start con- sidering whether we have really addressed the factors impacting our sustainability when those conversations turn to the challenges our individual businesses face, whether those conversations relate to the number of certifications and/or sales we have made, how many divers we have on our next trip, what condition are our dive sites in, etc. In subsequent articles in this series, we will explore the rele- RESEARCH continued
vance to the dive industry of research findings regarding the Bottom Line(s), destination com- petitiveness, product life cycles, systems models, who is the diver tourist and what motivates their travel patterns.
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