• Energy Research

Abstract This paper proposes a conceptual model for the scuba diving tourism system (SDTS). A holistic view was adopted to highlight the central elements of scuba diving tourism (SDT). Specifically, the paper examines the key components in the SDTS along with issues which challenge the sustainability of SDT. Scuba divers, the marine environment, the host community and the scuba diving tourism industry (including all associated industries) are fundamental elements of the SDTS. Notably, the host community is often overlooked as a key stakeholder in the management and sustainability of SDT at the destination. A systems approach used to conceptualise the SDTS highlights the need for adaptive management and leadership to encourage future orientated thinking and the integration of stakeholder concerns and perspectives to ensure the sustainability of marine resources and experiences.

Successful underwater heritage management requires a sound understanding of visitor behavior. Primary visitors to underwater heritage sites are divers whose behavior can pose risks to the integrity of site cultural heritage and tourism values. This study seeks to understand wreck diver in-water behavior. Conventional observation of diver behavior is limiting. Wearable cameras are becoming popular across many recreational activities and potentially expand the scope and quality of diver observation. Video observation is rarely used in such research. This article demonstrates the potential of video observation, describing the analysis of first-person video records to explore details of diver behavior on shipwrecks. The evidence demonstrates that while most divers behaved responsibly, a few contributed to most contact behaviors. The analysis details this behavior, identifying, for example, that deliberate holding and touching comprised most contacts. Such findings on diver behavior inform heritage and tourism management decisions and provide a baseline for future studies. Methodologically, the study demonstrates the power of this method of observing divers and other recreationists. This is particularly valuable for researching recreationalists in confined spaces, such as caves or shipwrecks. The quality of results allows for further evidence-based examination of motivations, values, intentions and meanings underlying observed diver behavior.