Immersion in the blue: tourist scuba divers’ involvement with scuba diving

Abstract

Many tourists participate in recreational scuba diving and it is one of the fastest growing recreational activities. The literature that surrounds tourist scuba diving focuses on aspects related to this activity, with only limited literature being on the subject of tourist scuba divers themselves. This study is about tourist scuba divers. It has investigated the extent of tourist scuba divers' involvement with scuba diving, and the perceived durable benefits scuba diving provides them. The Serious Leisure Perspective is used to make sense of the information obtained from two hundred tourist scuba divers. This information was collected through using the Serious Leisure Inventory and Measure (SLIM), which formed an index for involvement. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data in Cairns,Australia. Respondents in this study are a heterogeneous group, supporting a trend away from the tendency for tourist scuba divers to be thirty-something tertiary educated males that are certified scuba divers. Results showed that each quality used to construct involvement increased as the involvement category increased with regard to pursuit of (tourist) scuba diving. The same occurs with all ten durable benefits, with self-gratification, self-enrichment, and re-creation being the most consistently realised. Individuals casually pursuing the serious leisure activity of scuba diving are more prevalent than is suggested in the serious leisure concept. What tourist scuba divers perceive they gain from their involvement in scuba diving expands upon the elements of satisfaction and enjoyment identified in tourist scuba diver literature. However, discrepancies between the empirical data and theoretical criteria were found with regard to leisure career, identification with pursuit, and perseverance. Possible methods to resolve these discrepancies are discussed, concentrating on adjusting category ranges on the SLIM and whether or not the SLIM statement completely captured tourist scuba diver involvement with scuba diving.