Over 57,000 people from all around the world convened in Singapore over the weekend to find out about what is hot in the dive world.  Queensland was among the excitement and showed off our iconic Great Barrier Reef.

Dive Queensland’s members partnered with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, each sending representatives to draw in visitors of the Asian Dive Expo to experience the iconic world heritage site.

‘Representing our destination at these dive shows is extremely important.  Countries from around the world send their representatives to showcase their dive destinations. To stay in the minds of our visitors, we need to do the same.’ says Allan Woo, Dive Queensland president.

After not being there for seven years, Peter Boundy, owner of Cairns Dive Centre said, ‘there were line-ups of people just streaming in and out of the show.

‘It was good to be there again, even the other booths came over to let us know it was good to see Australia back.

‘We were very happy with the result, we’ve already got several bookings as a result and the trip has already paid off.’

Karl Kuhle, Seawalker Green Island CEO says, ‘With all this news about coral bleaching, we need to be out there showing the world that the reef is not dead.

‘Over those few days, we were asked several times about coral bleaching.  We were happy to tell them what it really is like at the reefs in which they go.

‘Through images and story-telling, I believe we got the message across.’

Leslie Miles, Dive Queensland representative says, ‘People honestly thought that the whole 2300 kilometres of the reef were effected and that the whole reef was dead.   I had one person say “I wish I had seen the Great Barrier Reef before it had died.”

‘Having Chris Jones, from GBRMPA, along to properly educate and explain exactly what was happening was a blessing.’

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority supports tourism and engagement with the global consumer.

‘The dive expo is an opportunity to promote the world class tourism experiences offered on the Great Barrier Reef’, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority tourism and stewardship director Roger Beeden said.

‘We encourage and promote sustainable tourism operators through our High Standard Tourism Operator program — visitors benefit from high standard tourism operators through world-class experiences, the Reef benefits because sustainable operators protect the Reef and operators benefit because a healthy tourism industry relies on a healthy reef,’ Dr Beeden said.

Timing of this show is important, with Singaporean airline SilkAir to begin flying thrice-weekly flights to and from Cairns from May 30^th.

Janice Antonson, General Manager Aeronautical Development & Marketing of Cairns Airport says, ‘SilkAir’s original service into Cairns, with some services operating via Darwin, has proved very popular since it commenced in May 2015.

‘The new fully direct service now offers even more opportunities for people coming to Cairns & Great Barrier Reef from Singapore as well as via Singapore from other parts of Asia and Europe.’

Dive Queensland is an association dedicated to the advancement of dive tourism in Queensland.

‘We aim to tell the story of Queensland and its Great Barrier Reef to all corners of the globe with the purpose of increasing visitation to this region.’ says Allan Woo.