There is no cheap technical diving. This was already the case before covid.
In december 2020, Bonaire opened for only about 3 weeks for people from the Netherlands (others were also welcome but the government adviced against travelling). So I decided to go to Bonaire. I originally had planned Bali and Mexico, but both were impossible. So Bonaire got part of my money. I also went in 2020 during the negative travel advice to several other countries in Europe, but people talked negative about the people who were not afraid of travelling. It was really shaming and bashing, not only by just people, but also the newspapers, government, all said you are part of the spread of covid. Even if you were not ill.
But due to travel restrictions, I had to cancel the planned cave course in France also. I have teached a little bit in the few weeks that France was normal open in july 2020, but went to the Jura region then (and there no filling logistics), so only ccr cave was more or less possible to teach. Then end of 2020 everything closed again.
Summer of 2021 it looked better, so I could teach in october 2021 1.5 cave courses again in France. But some of the divers who signed up for spring 2020 decided to quit diving 1.5 year later, so they also had no interest anymore in a cave course. Then in december we had a lockdown again. I had booked a sportsdiver/recreational diver holiday in Curacao and had to do 2 test before getting there. Normally I refuse to test, but otherwise I had lost my money if I wanted to cancel. But my technical diving destinations I like to go were still closed (or not closed by the country, but you could not go back without testing and quarantaine and I have to go out directly after returning).
Also other countries with quarantaine to enter or to go back were a no go.
Then in 2022, countries lift their testrequirement, also Johnson+1 pfizer was enough again for most countries, and most countries also lifted the vaccination requirement completely as they saw the light that is does not help anything and money must flew into the country back by tourists.
BUT: Prices of flights are HIGH, they doubled. I could fly in 2018 to Mexico for 550 euro, it was 650 in 2019, now I pay with the same airline over 1000 euro for the same flight. Car rental: from 800 dollar for 2 weeks it is now over 1200 dollar for the same car. Accomodation: doubled. Tankrental: rised.
Also fuel for cars is extremely expesive and the prices to heat houses here in winter raised over 5 times. So the money I could safe for a holiday is now thrown away to heat my house a little bit.
The prices for helium rised extremely. From teaching a 6 normoxic trimix courses a year and 1 or 2 full trimix courses, it is now almost 0. You see deep air coming back. Even if courses only teach to 54 of 55m, people dive again over 60m on air (cmas way, I have an 60m on air cert from cmas). I have never teached the technical diver course (because I am responsible at that depths if a student dives on air), but now I got the question to teach it and now I will think about it doing it.
Before covid, cavediving was already growing because of helium prices and then a week of doing technical diving in caves was way much cheaper than a week trimixdiving on wrecks (no boat to be paid also). But now people also think twice before travelling to France (1200km 1 way) do to the fuelcosts.
If I look to myself, if I can save 300 euro a month for my hobby to travel around the world, I can do 1 holiday to Mexico for the price it was in 2019. And then can do some weekends abroad.
But my price for heating my house has raised from 102 euro a month (and a nice warm house) to almost 400 euro (and heat it to 15 degrees C now). That means the money that I COULD save for holidays is now not saved anymore. Also the fuelprices rised, the prices for food (20%). That means, I don't know if I can visit Mexico for example again. At least I will not be able to do that every year.
AND, another important point: most people loose interest in hobbies within 3-5 years. So in recreational diving,you must earn as much money as possible in the first 3 years. The same happens when people start technical diving. A lot loose interest in a few years. No we could not travel for almost 3 years. So the people quit their hobby, but new starters were also not there.
From were I live, the interest in trimixdivingcourses has dropped to almost zero. Cave is still lower than before covid. I have seen a few starting ccr, but that is on the same level as before. I teach just for hobby, it is not my job. But to do the 20 required dives as fundives on every highest level to stay confident at instructor level was quite hard during the covid time (but I did happely
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