Cost vs Quality

Spend some time in the dive industry, and you’ll notice that it’s an increasingly crowded field, with new dive operations opening, and others failing, all the time.  To be successful, somehow a dive operation (and this can be a huge dive centre, or a one man band that you setup independently post your IE) needs to standout, to both attract and retain customers.  Commercially, there are two main ways to do this – either compete to provide the lowest cost, or standout by providing the highest quality.  Now, competing on cost is problematic, as inevitably corners will be cut, intentional or not – which isn’t great as this may compromise safety.  In our view, the better, and more sustainable way to standout is by providing high quality experiences and services. 

What is High Quality?

So what does high quality mean in this context?  Well, customers want good experiences and excellent training – so that needs to be a huge check.  And safety of course, shouldn’t be taken for granted, so another big check.  But today’s increasingly more discerning and environmentally aware customers also want assurance that their leisure activities will not have a negative impact on the environment.  This is where a dive offering with genuine sustainable tourism and conservation practices credentials can really stand out.  Increasingly, divers understand that doing things the right way costs a bit more. But they also remain loyal to operators that they trust will ensure that their environmental practices are truly green.

Unique experiences

By building on experiences focusing on nature interpretation, conservation and citizen science type activities, you as a dive professional, will be able to offer your customers something different.  Not only are their leisure activities not having a negative environmental impact – citizen science actually turns the dial all the way up the other way, and ensures that their holiday fun time actually contributes positively.  Customers are able to take part in and contribute to real scientific research – allowing them to make a difference and be part of the solution.  Customers will choose activities and holidays that tie in with their personal values, and increasingly conservation and citizen science led activities such as Dive Against Debris, and local partnerships with marine researchers fit the bill.

Long Term Thinking

By operating sustainably and prioritising conservation over simple profit, dive professionals are ensuring that there is a longer term future in the industry.  Sustainable practises, such as not dropping anchor on a reef, may take more time and effort, but it ensures that the marine environment thrives year after year, and the dive sites will flourish and delight divers for generations to come.  Cabo Pulmo is a shining example of this – by establishing and enforcing community owned sustainable practises and monitoring, the biomass of the reef has increased by nearly 500%, and it is now a premier diving destination.  

Inspiration

As a professional dive instructor, knowing and believing that you are working in a sustainable and conservation minded way provides a boost to your confidence and motivation.  We all know that the dive industry is not perfect, but you at least, are working in a positive, higher standard way – protecting the marine environment that we all love, while at the same time sharing it with delighted customers.  It makes it much easier to get out of bed in the morning when you are not only doing something you love, but also sharing that passion with other like minded divers.  Plus, you role as a PADI Divemaster or Instructor gives you the opportunity to inspire the next generation of divers to love and take care of the underwater world! You can create lasting impacts as those new divers grow and go on to share what they’ve learned from you with their friends and family – or maybe even their guests & students when they one day decide to follow your lead and become a dive instructor! By focusing on sustainable tourism and conservation you not only become a role model in the industry, but a massive force for change.

Ready to be a conservation minded dive instructor?  Click here to learn more about the Ninja IDC Program and sign up today! 

Ninja Family Guest Writer:

Sze Wei

Lover of all marine animals big and small – and ok, yes, I like diving a lot!  When not underwater, I can be found in London with my goldfish.
Follow Sze Wei on Instagram

Location, Location, Location

One of the big decisions every dive professional needs to make on their journey to being an instructor is where to do their IDC – the PADI Instructor Development Course, that will prepare them to take and pass the PADI Instructor Examination (IE).  You’ll want to choose somewhere that is set up right to both support and challenge you in that journey, and ensure that you’re properly equipped to start your new career teaching scuba diving.  How to balance comfort, cost, community and opportunity?  Everyone needs to come to their own conclusion, but here’s some awesome reasons why Los Cabos should rank high on the list!

The Sun & The Sea

If you like the sunshine, and don’t fancy training in cold water lakes and quarries – head to Los Cabos for your PADI Instructor course!  Los Cabos is known for extremely beautiful weather with an average of 360 sunny days per year. The desert landscape ensures that  the air humidity remains very low, while being located right on both the Sea of ​​Cortez and the Pacific Ocean gives access to beautiful ocean dives for your open water training. The Sea of Cortez was famously nicknamed ‘The World’s Aquarium’ by one of the oceans greatest explorers – Jacques Cousteau! He gave it this name because of the unrivaled abundance of life and biodiversity he found here. The waters around the southern Baja California Peninsula are also touted to be visited by more migratory marine species than anywhere else on earth and also host more than ⅓ of the worlds marine mammal species!  Sun, abundant healthy oceans, sand and good weather makes everyone happier, and your dive training that much more enjoyable.

World Class Destination

Los Cabos is a world-class destination, welcoming more than 3 million visitors every year.  Why does this matter for your IDC?  Well it means that there is a good flow of diverse customers, and types of divers here.  The booming tourist industry supports a strong dive industry, which means that you’ll get exposed to a range of dive professionals and operations.  This translates to great opportunities for internships to put your training into practice and gain real world experience, as well the chance to make connections and build your network in the dive world.

 

The Ninja IDC Program

We are very proud of our conservation based PADI IDC program! It was the first of its kind in the world and has set in motion new standards for dive professional training in the global industry. Here at Dive Ninjas, as part of the IDC, we don’t just cover all the fundamental and mandatory aspects of the PADI requirements – instead we took the PADI course and built our Ninja program around it to bring sustainable tourism and marine conservation into the course. We truly aim to create fully rounded dive pros that are not only awesome instructors, but can make a difference in their career.  This means instructors who deliver excellent customer service, prioritize safety, work to protect the environment, while ensuring everyone is having a great time in the process. It’s why our Ninja Alumni are some of the most sought after dive pros in the industry.  Our additional ninja workshops and content guides IDC students through each facet of how to be a better Instructor.  We keep teaching groups small to ensure appropriate guidance and attention from instructors, and work with our network of dive professionals, conservationists and researchers to deliver special workshops and surprises.

Incredible Diving

Situated right where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific Ocean, the waters around Los Cabos are just teeming with marine life.  The sheer variety of dive sites to explore and marine animals to spot will inspire and motivate you in your journey as a dive professional!  See humpback whales breaching or giant schools of mobulas soaring while going out to practice your open water presentation!  Or sea lions and huge schools of jacks & snapper stopping by to check your skills out under water.  For those interested in technical diving, the Cabo San Lucas Marine Park offers incredible deep walls reaching down over 300 meters (1000 Ft) under the sea with tons of opportunities to explore only a couple minutes from the marina – and maybe even find that missing Spanish galleon! Suffice to say, there’s lots of underwater richness to explore!  

It’s Gorgeous Topside

Baja is breathtaking!  From beautiful beaches, amazing desert scenery, electric blue bays, desert oasis, mountain hikes,  hot springs, and waterfalls, to beautiful historic colonial towns, there is so much to do and explore, while you chill out on a day off.  Watch as the Baja sun sets into the mighty Pacific Ocean igniting the sky in neon oranges and pinks before millions of stars begin to illuminate the night sky. If you’re into astrophotography, astronomy, or even just checking out the stars Baja has some of the best skies in the world for it – most nights you can clearly see the milky way cutting across the night sky! You should definitely plan some well deserved downtime after your IE to just enjoy yourself in the beautiful landscape.  And of course, there are plenty of opportunities to let your hair down and party the night away in Cabo San Lucas!

It’s Great For Travellers 

Los Cabos is very well connected, with direct flights to many major cities in the US and Mexico – and even new routes to Europe!  With a relatively low cost of living, and a great choice of accommodation to fit any budget – it’s not at all hard to live comfortably here!  Both English and Spanish are widely spoken.  Local amenities, such as transport infrastructure (Uber, buses, taxis, & more), internet connectivity (super fast fiber optic is pretty common to find in Cabo) and health facilities are excellent (more high quality hospitals than anywhere else in Mexico)  – making Los Cabos a prime location for this generation of digital nomads!  Foodwise (fueling for your IDC is important!) there’s yummy local and international cuisine readily available for very reasonable prices. Everything from traditional Mexican cuisine to Italian, Japanese, Vegan, Argentinian, Chinese, American,  and so much more – including some of the best taco spots in Mexico! 

With a vibrant mix of international and local Baja culture, Los Cabos is beautiful, friendly, accommodating, open minded, and accepting.  So come join your new ninja family in Cabo San Lucas! Click here to learn more about the Ninja IDC Program or Divemaster program and sign up today! 

Ninja Family Guest Writer:

Sze Wei

Lover of all marine animals big and small – and ok, yes, I like diving a lot!  When not underwater, I can be found in London with my goldfish.
Follow Sze Wei on Instagram