TRAVEL
Part 1 of 3: What Dive Travel Means to Retailers – by David Prichard and Lily Mak, Enchanted Sea Images, Inc., Richardson, TX
David (Master Instructor) and Lily (Assistant Instructor) have over 20 years of experience as PADI professionals and as photojournalists with over 30 articles in scuba diving publications such as Skin Diver, Dive Training Maga- zine, Dive Center Business, and Wreck Diving Magazine. They also organize and lead group scuba trips around the world and have invented a scuba product that has been on the market for over 20 years.
Your dive center may have quality gear to sell and experienced instruc- tors to teach the skills needed to be a scuba diver, but are you able to fulfill a customer’s “desire?” The goal of most scuba divers is to travel to an exotic tropical loca-
advanced skills. This additional dive knowledge will not only boost the diver’s confidence level but also help reduce the likelihood of any “incidents” that could mar their ex- perience on your trip. Successful dive centers often send instructors who can teach specialties as the “trip leader” so that the instructional revenue stream continues during the trip. Deep dives in fresh water are normally cold and dark experiences, but your tropical trip destination offers a more inviting oppor- tunity for “deep diver” certifications, and for other ad- vanced classes such as wreck, photo/video, night, drift, boat, and many other classes for credits or full certifica- tions. Your trip participants will enjoy the opportunity to
tion to see amazing underwater critters and pristine coral reefs. If your business isn’t centered on fulfilling these dreams with active dive travel adventures, then your cus- tomers are likely to go to another dive shop that does cater to their cravings. Dive travel programs can be a key part of your store’s
earn more skill certification cards in more hospitable environments, while your shop earns your dive as- sociation’s credits, and the addi- tional educational revenue. Dive travelers are often savvy shoppers and will compare dive packages offered by dive centers or dive travel agencies. They look for which trips offer a “better deal” for
profit center, not just from whole- saler’s trip commissions, but also from additional gear sales, trip-as- sociated classes, as well as from building customer loyalty and at- tracting new customers. When your customers sign up for a trip, have a checklist of scuba gear that you can recommend that would make their trip more enjoy-
Group Trip to Lembeh, Indonesia.
their time and money. Experienced trip organizers know to offer potential participants extra incentives with their trip package to make it more attractive to both satisfy current customers and attract new ones. This is done by negotiating with both the travel wholesaler and the resort operation on prices and amenities. Most will move down on package rates, if you are a good negotiator and are bringing a large group. Ask if they can offer free Nitrox or upgrade the ac- commodations and meal plan. How about including a local side tour, or discounted rates on services or rental gear (larger cylinders, camera, etc.). Promote these details and bring in new business as dive travel shoppers will see that
able and safer. Promote the idea of owning their own gear rather than relying on the unknown condition of rental equipment. This gear can include dive computers with time to learn the functions, or primary and backup lights for a night dive. Is their exposure suit compatible with the ex- pected environment or do they need accessories that would aid in their comfort? A trip participant will likely buy addi- tional gear for their new journey that they may not have bought otherwise. While you have the trip participant at your business, sug- gest some classes they can take before the trip that will aid them in their safety and allow them to get more out of their adventure. These subjects can be on fish identification, buoyancy to protect both the reef and themselves, enriched air for longer dive times and shorter surface intervals, boat and drift diving techniques, night diving, and many other
you are offering a better value and experience. The next article in the series will be on how to be a good trip leader that will keep customers happy and coming back for future trips.
email David
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