A new study shows that fully protecting the world's most popular scuba diving sites could not only help marine life bounce back, but also generate an extra US $2 billion for coastal economies.
Reniel Cabral is a senior lecturer at James Cook University and the study's lead author. He said some 33 million dives take place in the ocean each year, but only 15% of dive sites are in highly or fully protected marine protected areas (MPAs).
"We assembled a database of dive shops, dive sites and prices from thousands of locations worldwide. We then estimated the number of dives annually, the extent to which protection would increase biomass and biodiversity in an area, and their effect on the demand for diving.
"Finally, we assessed the effect of introducing MPA access fees on the demand for diving and the revenue generated from the access fees," said Dr Cabral.
The researchers found that enforcing highly and fully protected MPAs within existing recreational diving locations would increase the demand for diving and the number of dives by 32% (or 10.5 million more dives per year) and dive industry revenue by US $616 million annually.
They said when access fees are introduced in tandem with dive site protection upgrades, it is possible to generate an extra US $2 billion per year from access fees without impacting dive numbers.
"We found the consumer surplus — the measure of what someone is willing to pay for a scuba diving experience versus what the actual cost is — is US $2.7 billion per year. In other words, divers would willingly pay more for the experience, driving up the profitability of the sector," said Dr Cabral.
Enric Sala, founder of National Geographic Pristine Seas, said ocean protection benefits marine life, coastal communities and businesses.
"Protecting diving sites from fishing and other damaging activities can generate new streams of income and benefit more people," said Dr Sala.
Drew Richardson is president & CEO of PADI – the world's largest scuba diving organisation - whose 6,600 dive centres and resorts in over 180 countries provided data sets for the study.
"By safeguarding dive sites with more marine protected areas, we can reinvigorate the diver experience and regenerate hope for the ocean. The more people that are inspired to explore the ocean, the more torchbearers we will have to further advocate for safeguarding its future," said Dr Richardson.
Dr Cabral said many studies show that protected areas help restore biodiversity and enhance nearby fisheries. Yet, the tourism benefits of MPAs are poorly understood.
"Communities and businesses are leaving money on the table by overlooking the tourism benefits of MPAs," said Dr Cabral.
Paper: (Available after the embargo lifts).
Cabral, R.B., Millage, K.D., Mayorga, J., Kordell, T., Kelkar, M., Caughman, A.M., Favoretto, F., Schuhbauer, A., Aburto-Oropeza, O., Sala, E., Bradley, D., 2025. Marine protected areas for dive tourism. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-83664-1
Notes:
The research shows Egypt, Thailand and the US host the most scuba dives — close to 3 million every year in each location — while Indonesia, Egypt and Australia host the most dives in fully or highly protected MPAs.
It found the Philippines, US and Indonesia, which host the largest number of dives in unprotected waters, would benefit most from designating sanctuaries in popular diving spots.
National Geographic Pristine Seas
Pristine Seas works with Indigenous and local communities, governments, and other partners to help protect vital places in the ocean using a unique combination of research, community engagement, policy work, and filmmaking.
Since 2008, the program has conducted more than 45 expeditions around the world and helped establish 29 marine reserves, spanning more than 6.9 million square kilometres of ocean.
Pristine Seas is part of the global non-profit, the National Geographic Society. Its mission is driven by science and filmmaking — it is fully independent from National Geographic publishing and its media arm.
