chiara once bubbled...
I think there is some space for Scuba Diver certification, and that is when people don't have enough time to do the full Open Water, especially when on vacation on some exotic island and they happen to realize, suddenly in the middle of their hard-earned week of relax, that there is something called "dive centre".
They come in, they do an "intro", they get hooked but they are only staying another 3 days.
If they put enough energy into it (ok, wishful thinking) then why not?
Why limit them to a series of intros?
They get their card, they are happy, and maybe on the next vacation they finish the rest.
Even the Advanced Open Water Diver course is nowadays split in two.
The under-water camel safari is covered under Discover Scuba Diving.
In my opinion the main use of the Scuba Diver cert is to let people off the hook if they don't make it through the OWD course. It gives you a way to stop and gives them something for their efforts. As the instructor you can also rest easy that a "scuba diver" won't be diving alone.
I don't agree with using it as a way to lower the bar even further for people who don't have the time or the willingness to go through the OWD course.
R..