Sad news coming out of Miami Beach, as Tarpoon Lagoon Diver Center is closing on April 30th, after 27 years at their location on Miami Beach Marina. The family will consolidate operations to their Tarpoon Skin Diving Center location in Hialeah, FL. The owners tell me they will continue with boat charters out of Miami Beach, although I am unsure how that will work moving forward (contact them for details).
The shop was convenient for local and tourist divers. While I did not dive with them much—they mostly focused on shallow dives that didn't fit my style of diving—I used their shop often, and they were my primary stop for air fills and tank service. The staff was always very accommodating and would help you out if you were in a pinch. The family cites a rent increase and slower business as the main drivers for closing.
From a broader perspective, Miami Beach is now without a dive shop after South Beach Divers closed some years ago, followed by this recent closing of Tarpoon. Bottom line: It's a tough business. High rents, skyrocketing insurance costs in Florida, and competition from Amazon make running a local dive shop challenging. As for this year, tourism from international visitors to the US is way down - about 17% from Western Europe, for example. In Miami Beach, international tourists account for about 25% of all visits, but stay longer and spend more money than domestic tourists. From a diving perspective, many of those visiting divers also make their way down to the Keys or up to the Fort Lauderdale/Pompano Beach area.
For those visiting Miami, two great dive operations are still conveniently located to Miami/Miami Beach: Ace Divers in downtown Miami and Diver's Paradise in Key Biscayne - both with great dive charter and instructional programs. Diver's Paradise also provides fills, service and a small retail footprint, as does Ocean Safari west of downtown Miami.
The shop was convenient for local and tourist divers. While I did not dive with them much—they mostly focused on shallow dives that didn't fit my style of diving—I used their shop often, and they were my primary stop for air fills and tank service. The staff was always very accommodating and would help you out if you were in a pinch. The family cites a rent increase and slower business as the main drivers for closing.
From a broader perspective, Miami Beach is now without a dive shop after South Beach Divers closed some years ago, followed by this recent closing of Tarpoon. Bottom line: It's a tough business. High rents, skyrocketing insurance costs in Florida, and competition from Amazon make running a local dive shop challenging. As for this year, tourism from international visitors to the US is way down - about 17% from Western Europe, for example. In Miami Beach, international tourists account for about 25% of all visits, but stay longer and spend more money than domestic tourists. From a diving perspective, many of those visiting divers also make their way down to the Keys or up to the Fort Lauderdale/Pompano Beach area.
For those visiting Miami, two great dive operations are still conveniently located to Miami/Miami Beach: Ace Divers in downtown Miami and Diver's Paradise in Key Biscayne - both with great dive charter and instructional programs. Diver's Paradise also provides fills, service and a small retail footprint, as does Ocean Safari west of downtown Miami.
