The laptop comes to life and the musical jingle of Windows hangs in the air. Minutes later you’re clicking ‘add to cart’. That’s it. Job done; your diving holiday is booked.
We all know the expression, ‘The best thing since sliced bread’. Scuba diving had its sliced bread moment with the invention of the aqualung in 1943; a defining moment in history allowing man to dive freely underwater.
Bread is simple however and each slice is identical to the next. The diving industry isn’t. Each constituent part is a unique and valuable contribution to the whole.
DiversAround.com is the opposite of Otto Frederick Rohwedder’s sliced bread invention of 1928. Instead of separating, DiversAround puts everything back together again, all under one roof. That roof is a revolutionary new website allowing individuality as a diver, an instructor, a dive center, an operator or even a major airline.
Frequently you’ll need to evaluate these entities when choosing a dive holiday. And a holiday it will be unless you live close to a warm-water destination with scuba facilities.
Participation in golf, tennis or football usually requires a short trip across town on local transport where the biggest obstacle between you and the activity will be traffic lights and a small entrance fee. Diving involves long-haul travel, overnight accommodation and guidance from professional clubs and individuals.
Big travel operators help shorten the process but the marriage of dive centers with major travel companies hasn’t always been a lasting one. They co-exist until the weaker player discovers the symbiotic relationship was really a food-chain in disguise!
The consequences of these failed relationships are worse now than ever. Gathering dust in Sharm el Sheikh is a perfectly well-functioning diving industry. Aviation is a bigger industry and some airlines have re-directed their flights to alternative destinations.
Divers face a dilemma. Wait? Go elsewhere? Create a personal ‘package holiday’ or simply not bother at all? Redirecting planes to other warm climates may take care of sun tanning, food and beverage but scuba diving requires more than just a wet coastline, candy-floss and donkey rides. Unless there’s something worthwhile to see and do underwater then divers are no worse off at home practicing their buoyancy skills in the local swimming pool.
This is where DiversAround.com comes in. It is the new ‘Stock-Exchange and Facebook’ of the diving community where you can advertise, meet, chat or trade in anything to do with diving. When the usual flight options are unavailable DiversAround.com can guide you to other airlines and routes.
DiversAround.com took four years to develop although its recent launch couldn’t have been more appropriately timed. It is the perfect solution for divers wishing to navigate the current uncertainties of booking a Red Sea diving holiday. It puts divers in direct contact with the very people and organizations that can help then.
Jose Manuel Revuelta is the creator of DiversAround.com. He was literally born a diver in 1966 experiencing his underwater debut at very early age in Spain where his family owned one a diving businesses. Jose has experienced nearly every part of the scuba diving spectrum involved internationally as an instructor, manager, owner and safari boat operator.
His overview of the diving industry is extensive and uncannily accurate. He doesn’t read from a manual, whatever predications he makes are based on what he’s personally experienced during a lifetime in the diving business.
‘Our sport requires us to look way beyond what a regular sun-worshipper would want from a holiday. Divers are involved in a specialist sport and they have extra needs. They also require up to date advice and information.
‘The Red Sea diving industry is often at the mercy of the media. One negative tabloid headline can set the industry back weeks and months. DiversAround.com helps to reverse the practice of ignorant journalists destroying our community. It is a platform for real people with real knowledge to give a first-hand accurate view of their experiences in the Red Sea.
‘The best feature of DiversAround.com is that members retain complete control over their appearance on the site. What they say, what they offer and how visible they wish to be is all decided by the member. The service is free and visitors don’t even have to subscribe to view the basic site. We already have nearly 140,000 subscribers, more than four times the circulation figure of the leading dive magazines.
‘For dive centers it’s a one-stop shop. Counter staff no longer have to waste time uploading information across a plethora of social media sites. DiversAround.com allows them to write a single piece of news or information that will be added to all their advertising and social media platforms in one hit. They can reach many potential customers with very little effort.’
DiversAround.com is currently focused on the Red Sea but will soon expand to cover the many other popular diving destinations around the world.
The best thing since sliced bread?
Who knows but DiversAround.com finally allows the diving industry to control its destiny under its own terms.
