DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILING AND MARKET SEGMENTATION OF SCUBA DIVERS ACROSS MALAYSIAN DIVING DESTINATIONS

SCUBA diving has shown a notable surge in popularity as a recreational pursuit within the Malaysian context. Tourism Malaysia and Malaysia SCUBA Diving Association highlighted SCUBA diving as one of the essential activities in promoting tourism destinations in Malaysia, and they advocate for SCUBA dive operators to actively promote their products and services to the respective market segments. Nonetheless, the absence of significant statistical data challenges SCUBA diving operators to strategize their marketing initiatives effectively. Thus, the main aim of this study is to identify the segmentation of demographic variables among SCUBA divers across Malaysian diving destinations. The researcher adopted the quantitative method by using an online survey of SCUBA divers who had visited diving destinations in Malaysia. The online survey was distributed via social media and the SCUBA divers’ association. The usable responses were 321, and the data were coded and analysed using descriptive analysis in SPSS software. The implications of the research contribute to the empirical research on SCUBA divers' demographic profile, which helps in providing inputs for the stakeholders. This will also help the stakeholders, such as the government and diving businesses, in planning their marketing strategies and ensuring that these strategies are aligned and suitable with their target market.