drrich2
Contributor
I've been thinking about this over time, and the thread has come back up, so a few thoughts.
1.) A turn-key solution like Buddy Dive on Bonaire, or perhaps one of the AI resorts in Cozumel, where all you have to do is book your flight to & from the island and they take your to & from the airport, offer accommodations, perhaps even on-site rental truck, etc..., is ideal for many, but probably not practical to do for most.
2.) Therefore I'd look at websites for smaller but very popular charter op.s outside your local market to see what they offer and how. Rainbow Reef Dive Center out of Key Largo and Jupiter Dive Center out of Florida come to mind. A polished website and markets the diving, competence and safety-mindedness/equipment of the crew, comfortable dive boat (ideally with a few amenities, such as water and surface interval snacks, and overhead shade), and conveys a strong message of friendliness and fun. Link to a range of local accommodations, which a description of each and how far it is from your dive op., so people know where to stay that's near you.
3.) Include a list of area non-diving attractions for the non-divers, since a lot of divers travel with one or more (e.g.: spouse, little kids). Will your location be conveniently close to El Yunque rainforest tours? I'd take a look at a cruise ship's excursion list for Puerto Rico and see what's entertaining the tourists. You can market some of these on your website. This broadens your appeal to 'scuba dabblers' (who want to do a few dives, but also a range of other things) and 'scuba hostages' (who have to placate non-divers, or at least send them off somewhere). If your location is near a beautiful sandy public beach, that's a plus for some people. I've seen Belize advocated for the 'scuba + other stuff' market (e.g.: Mayan ruins, zoo, rainforest, etc...). Maybe some of what's driving people to Belize could drive them to Puerto Rico?
4.) You might even go so far as to list some nearby chain stores where people can get the essentials. Just knowing a Walmart is nearby comforts me that if I forget to pack underwear (that has happened twice!) or some such, not a problem. Making a strange place feel more familiar and closer to home might bring in some 'on the fence' potential customers.
5.) I don't know what health care in Puerto Rico is like, but being a U.S. holding, if it is good, I'd find a way to mention is on my website. That way people with 'risky' family in tow (e.g.: elderly, very young children) might pick you. I went to Key Largo last September not just to check out the Keys but because we had a baby and wanting U.S. health care available in case of trouble. I've seen a forum thread where someone was suggested to put off Roatan for a similar reason.
6.) Emphasize short flights from the U.S. If round trip airfare from the east coast & the south tends to be cheap, good deal.
7.) Consider your target audience (mainly east coast & southern U.S., I'm thinking) and your competition. For your area, I'm guessing St. Thomas and St. Croix, but also the Florida Keys. With the size of Puerto Rico, maybe you could offer some things they can't (but can you match the beaches of St. Thomas?), but what would drive me to fly down to Puerto Rico and dive the areas you favor vs. just diving the Florida Keys again?
8.) I think your target audience will include that niche of well-traveled scuba divers who've been a number of places (e.g.: Cozumel, Bonaire, maybe Roatan &/or Belize) and are looking to explore some new ground. What is distinctive about Puerto Rican diving? Cozumel has great viz., varied topography and drift diving, and low prices. Bonaire has shore diving with a west-coast hugging road and lots of sites. The Florida Keys offer a lot of shallow reef, some of it quite fishy, while staying U.S.
9.) Will you offer rental gear?
If I were your potential customer, I'd want to know what diving your part of Puerto Rico was like, whether I could do 3 or 4 dives/day or just be stuck with 2, how likely you were to be booked up & whether I could count on the boat to go out (if I pay for an exotic vacation diving with you, and you cancel 2 or 3 days, that's bad news!), what it'd cost, how close a 'decent and nice' hotel would be (and what ocean front would cost, since my wife likes sitting on a balcony beholding the sea for some reason), which side of the road you drive on & how bad traffic is (not everybody comes from a big city), where the good stores and local restaurants are, and what local non-scuba excursions can entertain the family.
Have you noticed how the cruise ship industry does an enormous business by bundling everything together and making it so easy for the customer? You cannot do all of that, but how close can you get?
My thoughts, anyway.
Richard.
