Tourism Deep Dive

It may not be the final frontier, but the farthest depths of the world’s oceans are evolving as tourism hotspots as adventurous luxury travellers start to explore the great unknown.

- Sam Mckeith

For most of human history, the depths of the world’s oceans have remained some of the most mysterious places on the planet. Far beyond the reach of explorers, vast underwater realms are still largely unexplored, making them some of the last regions untouched by humans.

However, all that looks set to change, with a growing number of companies moving to take luxury travellers on deep-sea excursions to big-ticket underwater attractions. This means that, for monied tourists, a trip to the wreck of the Titanic or even to the deep basins of the Arctic could soon be within reach. 

TAKING THE PLUNGE

One company at the forefront of this sub-sea charge is Blue Marble Private. The London tour company is offering trips in 2018 that take adventurers on 10-day missions from the coast of Newfoundland to the site of the Titanic at a cost of around US$99,800.

“Far fewer people have visited the wreck of the Titanic than the number who have been to space or summited Mount Everest,” the company’s website reads. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and an expedition designed only for those with a truly adventurous spirit.”

US-based OceanGate, led by charismatic CEO Stockton Rush, is also planning to dive to the site of the Titanic, one of the most well-known deep-sea attractions located 3,800 metres below the surface of the North Atlantic Ocean. It aims to make its first dive in 2019.

The company, which has been running less ambitious dives since 2009, is in the final stages of developing a five-person submarine that can dive to the depth of 4,000 metres – deep enough to take bold luxury travellers to the famous wreck.

Meanwhile, The Bluefish, a UK-headquartered “experiential concierge firm”, also pledges to take adventurous travellers on dives to the iconic site.