Book Description

Diving tourism has seen such growth in the past decade that the World Tourism Organization suggests it will soon become as important as ski tourism. According to a WTO estimate, there are now 5-7 million active certified divers in the world. Despite its development as a mass tourism activity, its dynamic growth and great economic importance, particularly for island destinations in the tropics, surprisingly few scientific publications address this form of special-interest tourism. In the light of this, New Frontiers in Marine Tourism is the first attempt to describe and analyse this tourism sector comprehensively. The first part of the book is devoted to an overview of the dive sector, addressing different types of diving locations and their particular characteristics, the geographical distribution of dive locations, the origins of dive tourists, as well as the growth and economic significance of diving tourism in destinations worldwide. In its second section, the book outlines different motivations and typologies of diving tourists, their learning behaviour, knowledge of marine environments, and their interaction with flora and fauna. The third section focuses on diver satisfaction, attitudes and preferences, diver education and interpretation, compliance with regulations by divers and tour operators, environmental impacts, and aspects of risk and health, thus highlighting a variety of pressing topics related to the management of diving tourism. * First book of its kind to address the rapidly growing area of diving tourism * Contributions from academic experts in the field, it addresses hot issues such as environmental impacts, health and safety, eduaction, and economic factors and impacts. * Brilliantly edited, it represents a coherent and cohesive collection of critically important issues in this area.