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Journal On Tourism & Sustainability/JOURNAL ON TOURISM & SUSTAINABILITY/Article
Article recordVersion of recordOpen accessVol. 3 No. 1 (2019): JOURNAL ON TOURISM & SUSTAINABILITYMay 30, 2026DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20464864

Dive and Novelty Seeking in Experimental Artificial Reefs

Scuba diving has opened a way to explore the underwater world. Today, hundreds of different diving area are in use for tourism purposes. Coral reefs and underwater cultural heritage such as shipwrecks, sunken cities, re…

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Scuba diving has opened a way to explore the underwater world. Today, hundreds of different diving area are in use for tourism purposes. Coral reefs and underwater cultural heritage such as shipwrecks, sunken cities, relics and other remains have been popular tourist destinations for the traveller who seeks novelty and variety, for many years. Over recent decades, artificial reef areas, a wide range of wrecks (ships, aircraft, tanks or cars) and thematic parks (monuments, archeologic parks), have become diving locations and provided tourists with new knowledge about the underwater environment. These can have considerable benefits for both tourists and host communities. Apart from diving destinations, some environmentally friendly experimental methods and setups have also been placed on the seabed, for example, plant cultivation, wineries, regeneration centres for coral reefs and even hotels and restaurants. This paper aims to examine, through content analysis and e-mail interviews, how underwater cultivation of terrestrial plants park (Italy), underwater wineries (Croatia and Spain) and other similar structures or projects around all over the world may create novelty for recreationists in the future. This study also questions which experience that raising to the surface in such a variable environment. This paper indicates that the experience formed through new knowledge about marine environments, awareness, understanding the wildlife and more importantly, the formation of marine surroundings through scientific studies and observations offers novelty and a new implication for recreational scuba diving attractions. Keywords: Keywords: Keywords: Keywords: Diving, Artificial Reefs, Novelty Seeking, Marine Tourism, Experimental

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