Order Custom Branded Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Your Business

Whether you want to provide your employees with protective gear or be able to offer/sell custom branded PPE to your customers, DEMA has partnered with Jack Nadel International to provide you with many PPE products at great prices. Click here to browse the list of products, many with custom branding available! Help keep your employees, customers, and workplace safe as we navigate the impact of COVID-19 together.

COVID-19 Resources & Support Available to the Entire Industry

The COVID-19 pandemic has created countless challenges for our industry and businesses. In an effort to provide support and work together to navigate these challenges, DEMA has compiled a collection of resources available to the entire industry. Among these resources, you will find: COVID-19 Updates The Retail Reopening Guide Series Online Business Seminars and Webinars HR, Business, and Marketing Resources Free Shareable Images to Use During COVID-19 Member-to-Member Ideas During Tough Times Home Schooling Resources And much more! Access these resources today.

Important Announcement Regarding DEMA Show 2020

The DEMA Board of Directors has determined that, for the safety and financial well-being of DEMA attendees and exhibitors, DEMA Show 2020 will not take place this November in New Orleans. Importantly, DEMA Show 2021 will take place in person as scheduled from Tuesday, November 16 to Friday, November 19, 2021, in Las Vegas, Nevada, with additional measures taken to ensure the health and safety of all. Future in-person DEMA Shows will take place as listed here.

While the industry will not be able to convene for a face-to-face DEMA Show this November, DEMA will connect with the diving community to engage in a unique and creative way beginning in September 2020. DEMA will announce details in the coming weeks, and we look forward to providing a great community learning and engagement opportunity for all diving professionals using tools that are well suited for the current business environment.

DEMA Show 2020 Exhibitors who have made payments toward their exhibit space have options with regard to this change, including obtaining discounted exhibit space and additional seniority space selection points for DEMA Show 2021 in Las Vegas. Click here for more details. Please note: These offers are for Exhibitors who have already made deposits towards their DEMA Show 2020 booth (i.e., does not apply to contracted/zero-paid exhibitors).

We look forward to connecting in new and valuable ways throughout 2020 and beyond! In the meantime, subscribe to DEMA’s email lists to stay updated on the ways DEMA can work for you during these challenging times. Above all, be safe, stay healthy, and let’s get back to business!

Retail Reopening Guide Series Available from DEMA

As the U.S. federal government, states and local governments consider a post-COVID-19 economy, retailers are seeking ways to protect customers and employees, while safely reopening their businesses. DEMA's new Retailer Reopening Series includes guidance broken down into three phases: 

1.  Reopening Phase I: Considerations for E-commerce, Contactless Curbside Pickup & At-home Delivery and other topics common to all phases of reopening
    
2. Reopening Phase II: Re-opening with Social Distancing and Reduced Occupancy 
3. Reopening: Phase III: The New Normal - Establish Protection, then Lift Restrictions

Phase I and Phase II are now available for download. Click here to access the guides today! 

Update on DEMA Show, the DEMA Association, and COVID-19

DEMA Show 2020 is currently scheduled for November 4-7, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. As the world’s only trade-exclusive diving, travel and watersports event, DEMA is continuing to plan for a face-to-face event while exploring all the options technology has to offer.

We are aware that the current situation with COVID-19 creates some unknowns regarding DEMA Show for our exhibitors, attendees, and the Industry at large. We share your concerns about the financial recovery of dive retail, dive travel, dive training and manufacturing, as well as concerns for the health and safety of all divers and dive professionals. News reports from Louisiana that the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center continues to be utilized as a medical monitoring station for patients recovering from COVID-19 and that the governor of Louisiana has extended stay-at-home orders for the state, complicate the possibilities of staging a face-to-face event in November. 

DEMA is monitoring the situation in New Orleans and will continue to provide updates on DEMA Show and other opportunities for members of the Industry to stay engaged with each other. The DEMA Board of Directors has extended exhibitor payment deadlines for DEMA Show – the next has been extended to June 15, 2020. Exhibitors can utilize this additional time to carefully assess their marketing needs and how the professional outreach possible through DEMA Show can assist as dive and travel markets re-open.

The DEMA Association is also providing other services to the Industry; the DEMA Retailer Resource Committee is currently reviewing proposals for DEMA-sponsored professional development programs, and the Public Policy and Retailer Resource Committees are helping shape local and state government policy in the U.S. to keep diving businesses open through the crisis. The Association continues to create and share engaging marketing materials and other resources for DEMA Member retailers to use as they reach out to potential and returning divers on social media. DEMA also continues to provide guidance to Industry members on applying for available government financial assistance.

All of us at DEMA are committed to providing the safest and most productive professional experiences for the Industry. We all look forward to the next stages of healthy recovery and to getting back to the activity and business we all love.

Five Resources to Protect Your Dive Business in the Face of COVID-19

With the uncertainty surrounding the spread of COVID-19 and the latest information that the effects of this National Emergency could continue into the summer, it is critical for dive retailers and all small dive businesses to stay in front of their customers and to utilize all the resources available to them. 

DEMA suggests several resources from the federal government and from DEMA for Members to consider during this crisis.

STAY HEALTHY AND SAFEMost important is the need for all to remain safe and follow the guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). These guidelines can be found on DEMA’s COVID-19 update page.

SBA DISASTER LOANS
The President has ordered that low-interest loans be made available to small businesses effective immediately from the Small Business Administration (SBA) in states affected by COVID-19. Congress has increased funding levels for these SBA Disaster Loans to $50 billion.

As of this writing, dive businesses in these states are eligible for these SBA Disaster Loans – businesses in the remaining states will be eligible when the Governor requests access to the SBA Disaster Loan funds. If your state has not yet requested access, you can send an email to the Governor requesting access by clicking here and asking the Governor to immediately request access to SBA Disaster Loans. An example email will populate the page for you, or you can include your own email verbiage.

Where SBA disaster loans are available, apply by calling the SBA at 1-800-659-2955, or start the application process here. To find and access to your local SBA resources, click here. Don’t wait – these resources are finite and may take time to process.

POOLS, EQUIPMENT AND TEACHING FACILITIES
The federal government is recommending that people gather in groups of fewer than 10. If you are running classes, keep your classes small and utilize online instructional resources when available. You can also host online events for your customers to let them know more about diving, about upcoming sales, and more.

If possible, consider teaching CPR/first aid to keep customers coming back to your store. Classes can be kept small, and your training organization’s proper cleaning guidelines can help protect you and your customers.

When possible, consider local diving – this is healthy exercise, and it means being out in the fresh air while using proper social distancing and following appropriate safety guidelines. Keep your customers active using local underwater treasure or Easter egg hunts, dives from local charters, and other ideas that allow divers to participate until they can travel more extensively. 

Keep your dive equipment clean. Divers Alert Network has issued guidelines for sanitizing dive equipment, which can be found here.

With schools closing, pool facilities for teaching scuba may become scarce. Some stores with pools are willing to share. You can find contact information for other nearby retail dive stores at GoDiveNow.com. Now is a good time for all of us to work together.

MARKETING
It is critical to continue being visible and relevant to your customers and communicate about your operation, talk about diving, and keep customers and local divers engaged. Time after time, those businesses that continue promoting their operations and services come out better and faster following a crisis when they have continued marketing. 

DEMA Member businesses can keep their continuous marketing efforts up and keep their cost down by utilizing the FREE professionally designed marketing materials from the Go Dive Now Member Toolkit.

USE INEXPENSIVE, TARGETED SOCIAL MEDIA ADS FOR OUTREACH
DEMA Member Retail Stores can stay in front of potential customers by receiving a FREE chart of local zip codes which contain the greatest number of target households with the highest per capita income who are good candidates for interest in learning or continuing to dive. These zip codes are ideal for targeting on social media, using Go Dive Now materials, free to DEMA Members.

DEMA will continue to provide access to guidance as more resources become available. If you have questions, please contact us at info@dema.org.

DEMA, DEMA Show and the Coronavirus

DEMA and DEMA Show are continuing to monitor the issues being created by the presence of the Coronavirus and taking steps to minimize any impact on DEMA Show and on services provided by the DEMA organization.

Importantly, DEMA anticipates hosting DEMA Show in New Orleans, in November 2020, as scheduled.  As of this date, the US Travel Association advises that “travel within the U.S. can and should continue as normal.”

We recognize that the Coronavirus outbreak, along with misinformation and the surrounding media coverage are creating issues for all stakeholders in the recreational diving industry. DEMA is closely monitoring the ongoing developments with this issue and is committed to taking the appropriate precautions to provide a safe and healthy environment for DEMA Show exhibitors and attendees.  DEMA is also following the latest recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as direction from U.S. government and local officials.  In addition, DEMA is working with the City of New Orleans on health and safety measures.

DEMA has also taken the following steps to help

• Created a web page for all industry members which contains pertinent articles on travel, equipment usage and cleaning, and health guidelines from the WHO and CDC, as well as links to outbreak monitoring services. The page can be found here: https://www.dema.org/page/CoronavirusUpdates.
  
• Extended payment milestones for DEMA Show Exhibitors to assist as businesses get through the immediate concerns.
  
• Working with association and convention industries as well as with show-related vendors to bring the latest information and event protocols to DEMA Members, DEMA Show Exhibitors and DEMA Show Attendees.

DEMA belongs to a coalition of recreation businesses all facing the same issues and much of the same regulatory environment. Working with this coalition provides access to additional ideas and data to help us all with this worldwide concern.

DEMA Show is on track for staging in New Orleans, November 4-7, 2020.  The health and safety planning for DEMA Show is a top priority for us. If you have any concerns or questions, please reach out to us at info@dema.org.