Category: General

Reaching a 20th birthday is worth celebrating! World Diving Lembongan recently celebrated their 20th anniversary of PADI Resort and Retail Association membership and owner John his 25th! Below is a bit about their journey.

About 22 years ago, a young British couple made their way to a then unknown island, Nusa Lembongan, off the coast of Bali. There they found pristine beaches with crystal clear water, friendly people who welcomed them to their island and their homes, and an amazing underwater world full of stunning corals with spectacular fish.  This adventurous couple wanted to dive but there was no one on the island offering this facility.  This lack of provision however sowed the seed of an idea on that visit. That idea flourished, changing the face of tourism on Nusa Lembongan all those years ago.

Mark and Shirley, that brave young couple, stayed on the island for nearly eight years, training and employing all local staff as divemasters and boat captains.  They developed World Diving Lembongan and it became a flourishing, successful dive centre.  John Chapman & Sue Beebe took over in 2005 and said that this was “when the hard work had already been done”!

Since 2005, tourism has grown exponentially on Nusa Lembongan.  There are now dozens of guesthouses, one or two bijou boutique hotels, bars, spas, private villas, restaurants serving a variety of meals from a simple dish of freshly caught fish to a culinary experience of haute cuisine, and at the last count, over thirty dive centres!

As more and more divers have discovered how spectacular the underwater world here is, more centres have opened to provide for this ever increasing number of visitors.  John and Sue count their blessings daily- “witnessing a world class underwater environment, working with fantastic local staff, enjoying the fascinating ceremonies, and experiencing being part of the World Diving and Pondok Baruna family, we know how truly fortunate we are.  Despite all the progress on the island, the underlying strength of the island’s culture is still there, maintaining it as a magical island where we can all, indeed, feel privileged to witness this wonderful paradise”.

Highlights from the 20th birthday party celebration can be seen here

It’s loyal  PADI members like these that contribute to the success not only of PADI, but of the entire diving industry! Congratulations once again on the success of World Diving Lembongan and for reaching your 20th anniversary as a valued PADI Dive Centre and John for reaching your 25th! We look forward to seeing the business continue long into the future!

To find out more about the benefits of becoming a PADI Dive Centre or Resort please visit PADI.com. To view more photos from the previous 20 years of World Diving Lembongan, click here.

We appreciate you choosing PADI as your diver training organisation throughout 2018 and the hard work you’ve done maintaining your PADI Professional Membership.

2019 PADI Professional Membership Renewal starts this month and below is an easy way to save the most on your PADI Membership.

The best option with the lowest renewal rate is to make sure you are signed up for Automatic Membership Renewal on the PADI Pros’ Site before the 15th November 2018.

You can find this feature on the My Account page or by clicking the button located on the homepage. If you are already enrolled, log on and make sure your credit card information including expiry date is still current. You should have received an email if you are currently not signed up or your credit card details have expired.

There will also be other options later this year for PADI Professional Membership Renewal including Online Membership Renewal as well as the traditional Paper Membership Renewal however to save time and money consider signing up for Automatic Membership Renewal today.

Visit the PADI Pros’ Site to sign up for Automatic Membership Renewal.