Destinations » Travel Agency Malaysia

Dive travel and tourism were a major focal point at this year’s show — dive-travel related in­dustries represented 40% of ex­hibitors. The theme was also noticeable in discussions at the expo’s Professional Develop­ment Conference.

In his opening speech, DEMA president and Cayman Islands Tourism Minister Thomas Jefferson explained the essential elements for estab­lishing world leadership in dive tourism. He stressed the need for cooperation between gov­ernments, airlines, tourism boards and dive operators to help promote an industry which, when managed responsibly, can be more profitable and sustain­able than reckless fishing prac­tices which exhaust the oceans’ natural resources.

Also thought-provoking were the show’s seminars, which ranged from “How to pre­serve coral reefs and feed the people” to “Nitrox today’s best profit opportunity” and “New Scubavro reaulators” .

In conjunction with the show, the Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board played host to 40 travel agents from the USA and Canada who specialize in dive travel packages to Malay­sia. The programme featured visits to five of Malaysia’s most renowned dive sites. Looking to the future

In line with the belief that the key to growth is protecting the environment, the Marine Parks and Marine Reserves Trust Fund held a fund-raising dinner with the theme, “Our seas. . . our children’s legacy”. The aim was to raise money to educate Malaysia’s youth in the need to protect our oceans, in addition to creating a sustainable trust fund to cover marine parks maintenance. The idea behind this grass-roots approach is that today’s children are the custodi­ans of tomorrow.

Scuba Schools Interna­tional, Dan, Scubapro, Tusa, PADI and Naui confirmed their attendance at DEMA Asia ‘98, which is scheduled to be held from September 17-20 at the Jakarta Convention Centre. All agreed that attending two shows in the region stretched their limited resources.

DEMA Asia was voted more popular than the rival ADEC show (to be replaced next year with the Asia Dive Expo in Sin­gapore) due to its professional­ism, size and wide network of resources. Claus Nimb, joint managing director of PADI, ad­mitted the opening of their Sin­gapore headquarters made at­tending a Singapore show al­most unnecessary.

Robert Watts, DEMA’s ex­ecutive director, said: “With alli­ances in Malaysia and now In­donesia, DEMA is making a sig­nificant and growing commit­ment to promote diving and ex­panding the industry in Asia, while at the same time educat­ing the industry and consumers on the need for and benefits of environmental preservation.