News from DEMA???

[DaveJo127]

Younger people not being attracted to diving probably has a lot to do with the fact that it never appears on their radar.

As a "young person" (younger than 22 at the time of this post) I'd have to concur on this point. I never would have thought about diving had my Dad not offered to get me certified and helped me buy my equipment. I don't think young people think it's "uncool," it's just not something they want to try enough to justify sinking all the money in. That or I get the "that's scary, I could never do that" answers from my friends who ask me about it lol.

If I could, I'd love to drive down to Florida next weekend and start cave training classes as it's been a dream of mine to try it, I just can't afford it.

 

[frndrfoe]

Not to mention shark week making many people afraid to go deeper than ankle deep at the beach. My boss says I'm crazy

 

[Laurie S.]

I had a good time there. It was my second DEMA and I spent a couple hours there on Friday by myself, and twice as long on Saturday with a friend. Saturday was my 64th birthday, and I'm not gray, have a big belly, nor waddle. Been diving for seven years now and intend to continue for as many years as I can. We bought a few items, and checked out a number of destinations.

 

[drrich2]

On the issue of engaging youth, some sports actively engage youngsters; in Scuba, they can't actually dive until age 10, and on the forum a number of people are resistive to that. A tangent for another thread, perhaps, but it'd be interesting to know at what age exposure to the prospective of scuba is most likely to result in long-term commitment.

I also wonder how many people think of scuba as a recreational activity practical to pursue, as opposed to like seeing an astronaut on t.v. and thinking 'Gee, that's neat,' but not seeing it as something most people might actually do.

Richard.

 

[Diving Dubai]

Large trade shows in all industries are on the decline. In mine (Professional Entertainment lighting) The costs for the Major manufacturers were huge. If they Just went to London, Frankfurt, LA and Orlando, their Exhibition costs (stands, manpower etc) were $500,000 per show. That's an awful lot of extra profit you need to make.

Not attending these shows, doesn't see a drop in sales.

That said, they perform a useful function. It's where industry people can network, put names to faces and the like. Pre-internet they used to be where you launched product. Now not so much. I bet Shearwater wouldn't have seen any reduced interest.

Regional events where it's easier for attendees to travel too and less expensive, seem to the the way forward. Exhibitor costs are less too. In teh Uk 6 x 2 day regional events cost substantially less than 1 London based 4 day exhibition and get a much greater footfall.

At the exhibitions I attend, I know longer have a stand, I just walk the floor. I get to see a lot more people than if tied to the stand (and get to avoid some too) Business is still done, people call and we meet for a coffee or a beer - because everyone is in the same location. Exhibitions aren't for the punter (or tyre kicker) Manufacturers want to interact with their dealers and distributors

We often joked that it would be cheaper and better, if our industry just hired a bar for a few days, where everyone could sit down have a beer and chat and still bet the same benefits with out the BS of actually exhibiting product.

 

[Sheri Daye]

Hey guys, want to see some young divers?!? Come to "The Blue Wild" in Ft. Lauderdale -- next one is on April 22-23, and it will be our 10th anniversary. It's shaping up to be an extra big one, and we have a very young and very enthusiastic crowd. This show has been growing at 25-30% per year, and I expect over 5,000 at the next one.

I started this event as a charity event/fundraiser for my brother's school for the developmentally disabled. I was into freediving and spearfishing at the time, so I was able to attract that crowd quite easily. Since then, I have purposely grown into other areas such as scuba diving, marine art, underwater photo/video, lionfish pavilion, adventure travel, paddleboards and kayaks, etc.

My thought process is that if you fall in love with the ocean, you will want to enjoy all different facets. If my theory is correct, maybe some of the young people that are into freediving today will want to get scuba certified to add to their watermanship skill-set, and maybe older scuba divers will want to try freediving (like I did). I still love scuba-diving, wreck-diving, tech-diving and will never give that up. I advocate for both sides and hope to help the future of scuba diving, even if in a small way, by exposing the young people at our show. I believe they are also good candidates for u/w photography/videography.

Anyway, just a few thoughts, and you are always welcome to join us!