DAN Europe is launching a new, multifaceted campaign to encourage, celebrate, and support local diving in response to the pandemic, which has greatly restricted divers’ ability to travel internationally.
“PADI has led the way and we’re happy to join them along with our industry partners and agencies to encourage divers to explore local diving opportunities”, explained DAN Europe marketing director Cristian Pellegrini. “Given the public health situation we find ourselves in, local diving is one of the things that will hopefully help boost our industry’s recovery”.
Identified by the hashtags #divelocal #divesafe, the campaign, which kicked off with a new feature article in Alert Diver – #Divelocal: How Diving Is Getting Its Groove Back – will help local dive centers and their clients rediscover and get the most out of their local diving sites. Planned components include collateral materials for dive centers; stories featuring local diving in Alert Diver and the DAN Europe blog, talks and social media lives, tools to help local divers connect with others, and of course continued safety recommendations. DAN Europe is committed to helping local diving grow.
DAN Europe is also working on new insurance products, with the intent to meet the evolving needs of the diving community—particularly now with the emphasis on local diving, and reflecting the ever-changing situation of the market. The insurance will supplement divers’ national healthcare system coverages, which generally do not provide the specialized knowledge and assistance required for diving injuries or fully cover hyperbaric therapy. Details of the new plan will be announced soon. The new insurance product will complement DAN Europe’s basic 25€ membership package, which provides 24/7 access to the DAN hotline and diving medical advice, access to MyDAN, and the App (Google Play, iOs).
In addition, the DAN Europe team is planning to support and participate in local diving projects of their own, following a recent successful citizen science project at the Pescara Springs Natural Reserve located a little more than a half an hour drive from one of DAN Europe’s operations offices located in Central Italy. There the team joined marine biologists to survey the autochthonous freshwater crayfish living in Springs.
“That’s the beauty of local diving”, says Laura Marroni, DAN Europe Vice President, who was part of the team of volunteer research divers. “You can find unexpected treasures and wonder in your own backyard”!