DEMA SHOW
Top 10 Reasons Dive Pro’s Should Attend the DEMA Show – by Tec Clark, Former Associate Director for Diving & Outdoor Recreation at Nova Southeastern University. Tec is a diving professional with over 30 years’ experience teaching at the university level. Tec consults with dive pro- fessionals on topics related to risk management and college/university programs and host of the popular Dive Locker Podcast and League of Extraordinary Divers Podcast: tec@scubaguru.com or (954) 495-7810.
The DEMA Show is the diving indus- try’s largest trade show. The Diving Equipment and Marketing Association (DEMA) held its first trade show in 1977. Today the DEMA Show has grown to host over 600 exhibitors with nearly 10,000 attendees annually. The exhibitors consist of dive equipment
DEMA Show is filled with social events. Many of these events are hosted by the major players in the industry, and they are open to everyone. They usually have a cash bar and free hors d'oeuvres. Here’s a word of advice – get there early if you want food! Some of the best socials are the ones hosted by SSI, PADI, and DAN. Industry awards are also a big thing at the Show. These gatherings are more formal, with full dinners as well. Some of the biggest award parties are hosted by Women Divers Hall of Fame and the Academy of Underwa- ter Arts and Sciences, where the prestigious NOGI Awards are handed out in a black-tie dinner affair. #7 DEMA Sponsored Seminars: Learning how to suc- ceed in your diving business is a big theme of the DEMA Show. The DEMA Show committee selects professional speakers to provide specific business and career related pre- sentations to attendees. DEMA sponsored seminars are di- vided into tracks to help you quickly and easily find the sessions that are of interest to you and meet your specific needs. These tracks include Marketing, Operations, and Sales. #6 Exhibitor Sponsored Seminars: Exhibitors can share more about themselves in one-hour seminars than they often can in their booths. So, they put on educational presentations at different points throughout the DEMA Show. These pre- sentations are informative and interactive. Some exhibitors like PADI, NAUI, SSI, and DAN have rented their own rooms in the convention center to offer back-to-back semi- nars all day, every day of the DEMA Show. Oh, and did you know you can walk away with professional certifications as well? Many companies offer training courses before, during, and after the DEMA Show. These include PSI/PCI, DAN, NAUI, and a host of equipment manufacturers offering repair technician courses as well. #5 Booking Dive Travel: Traveling to the best diving des- tinations in the world is the heart and soul of what we do as dive pros. Since so many dive centers and independent in- structors offer dive travel to their customers, there is no better time and place to gather as much info on diving destinations as at the DEMA Show. From diving liveaboard yachts to land based dive centers, dive travel is represented well at the DEMA Show. Let’s say you want to go to the Florida Keys, you will find dive operators of that region often near each other on the Show floor, making it easy to talk with and com-
manufacturers, travel destinations, apparel wholesalers, dive training agencies, and diving business service providers. At- tendees of the DEMA Show are limited to diving industry professionals only, as it is not open to the public or con- sumers. For some, the annual pilgrimage is obligatory - come hell or high water, they are going to the Show. For others, the DEMA Show is looked at as a drain on financial and time resources. But that could not be further from the truth, as the opportu- nities for growth and development in the diving industry mul- tiply when individuals or dive centers invest in the professional development that exists by attending the DEMA Show each year. To put this into light, here are my top ten reasons why dive professionals should attend the DEMA Show: #10 Location: Get away. No really, get out of your city and go somewhere else. When you escape your city, you also es- cape your routines, your defaults, and your hang-ups. Going to another location allows you to think differently, act differ- ently, and do unique things. This in turn opens up your cre- ative pathways of newness and exploration, which allows you to be primed for learning new things and being open to change. Between Orlando, Las Vegas, and New Orleans - these are great get-away destinations just right for large con- ventions and tourism. #9 Resource Centers: Two of the most popular and ex- pertise-intensive areas in diving are photography and technical diving. So the DEMA Show has created areas on the show floor called Resource Centers for both of these areas. The Image Resource Center and the Technical Diving Resource Center are areas where experts of their domains discuss tips and techniques throughout each day of the Show. The Re- source Centers are actually located in the midst of several ex- hibitor booths relating to that specialty area. #8 Social Events & Awards Parties: Every night of the
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