Mass tourism underwater: a segmentation approach to motivations of scuba diving holiday tourists

Scuba diving is an increasingly popular activity in resort destinations worldwide, providing tourists a more active experience in their holiday. By following the Push and Pull Theory, this study examines the scuba diving motivations of holiday tourists. Whilst of substantial importance for the practice of the activity, host marine destinations and broader ocean literacy, this an under-researched topic in the tourism literature. Data were collected from a comprehensive data set of holiday tourists who participated scuba diving in Kemer, Antalya-Turkey. Exploration & excitement, personal development, and socialisation & challenge were identified as the push motivations, while tourism & diving offerings, safety & accessibility, ancillary attributes, new area, and unspoiled diving destination were determined as the pull motivations. Moreover, cluster analysis revealed four groups who had various motivations to participate scuba diving, namely Enthusiastic Positivists, Youthful Hedonists, Amateur Explorers, and Single Regulars. Findings of the research were discussed along with their theoretical and managerial implications.