Why Dive Centres Should Attend The Dema Show

DEMA also provides far-reaching services that help improve the industry for all stakeholders including PR coverage for diving, legislative and environmental monitoring and an annual trade show to help foster buying and selling, face-to-face networking and educational growth. The DEMA Show is the largest trade-only event for diving, travel, and action water sports professionals, attracting thousands of exhibitors and industry professionals from around the world.

For dive centres in Australia, being a member of DEMA currently contributes little benefit because although their stated aim is to “Bringing Businesses Together to Grow the Diving Industry Worldwide,” the organisation is very American-centric, and with the exception of the DEMA show, it is of little benefit.

The DEMA dive show, on the other hand, is well worth attending. Over the 22 years of Abyss’s existence, we have had attendees at the show for 14 of those years, and for some years, up to 3 staff members attended. The best show to attend is the Las Vegas show as it is considerably less costly to attend from Australia and tends to be the biggest of any location. The DEMA Show is held in various locations, including New Orleans, and often takes place in large convention centres.

The DEMA Show is More than Diving Equipment

When attending the DEMA Show, a key event for dive industry professionals, it is important to plan your activities and in planning activities, I like to base it on the Seminars and fit visits to the show floor based around spare time on the schedule. On most trips, I do not see the entire floor until the final day of the show. The show attracts hundreds of exhibitors showcasing cutting-edge products and solutions. In planning the seminars, I would recommend that the best place to start is with the DEMA-Sponsored Education seminars. The DEMA-Sponsored seminars are divided into tracks to help you quickly and easily find the sessions that are of interest to you and meet your specific needs. My biggest issue is that there are normally so many good seminars that clash and you need to decide which you will miss. Once you have allocated the time for the DEMA-Sponsored seminars then I look at the Training agencies followed by the equipment suppliers. If you want to be leading the industry, then it is these seminars where you gain that knowledge.

One of the best ways to plan your DEMA trip is to use the DEMA App on your smartphone. The App is an excellent planning device and is the best way to get access to the seminar notes.

DEMA (Diving Equipment & Marketing Association) organises the event, making it the largest trade-only event for organisations in the scuba diving, ocean water sports, and dive travel sectors. The DEMA Show also features activities and products related to ocean water sports.

One of the other good aspects of the show is the networking opportunities. To maximise these, make sure you attend the Training Agencies' social events along with attending the DEMA Award Party.

If a dive centre wants to be at the forefront of the industry, then attend.