Understanding the resilience of dive tourism to complex change

Abstract

In this era of rapid multi-scale economic, environmental, and social change the continuation of any given tourism phenomenon into the long-term future should not be taken for granted. The field of tourism studies is largely accounting for the influences of complex change on tourism. However, dive tourism research is lagging behind in this regard. A resilience framework for the study of dive tourism systems is proposed that addresses the need to better account for the threats posed by complex change and the ways dive tourism is responding. The effectiveness of the framework is demonstrated through a case study in the US Virgin Islands. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were carried out with dive operators and government officials. Findings show that perturbations to dive tourism include a lack of support from the larger social–political system, the recent US economic downturn, and an invasive fish species. On the other hand, sources of resilience include dive operators’ formation of self-advocating organizations, recognition of an inexperienced and increasingly frugal client base, and their own contributions to environmental protection. Gaps in the existing theoretical and applied knowledge about dive tourism can be filled through research on (1) social and economic perturbations to dive tourism and (2) ways dive operators respond to perturbations to maintain their resilience.