Scuba Travel

What Scuba Travel does

Scuba Travel, trading under the legal entity Tony Backhurst Scuba Limited, is a UK-based independent specialist travel agency founded in 1995 that arranges scuba diving holidays worldwide. The company serves certified recreational divers seeking both liveaboard diving safaris and resort-based dive holidays across destinations including the Red Sea (Egypt), Maldives, Indonesia, Philippines, Galapagos, broader Pacific (Cocos, Socorro, Fiji, Papua New Guinea), and the Caribbean. It maintains long-standing distribution partnerships with premier liveaboard operators such as Emperor Fleet (Maldives/Indonesia) and Ocean Tribe Fleet's Ghazala vessels (Red Sea), as well as a broad network of dive resorts including Bandos, Six Senses Laamu, alamBatu, Lembeh Resort, and Misool Eco Resort. Specialty escorted programs include Alex Mustard underwater photography workshops and Mike Ward Red Sea wreck expeditions.

The company operates a sales-led, direct-to-consumer model. Customers are matched with holidays by a small team of travel consultants via phone (+44 1483 411590) and email ([email protected]), with assisted booking covering flights, transfers, equipment hire, cabin requests, and trip extensions. Pricing follows a deposit-and-balance structure (£500 for Egyptian Red Sea holidays, 30% for worldwide destinations, with balance due 90 days before travel; £75/£100 amendment fees). Supporting infrastructure consists of a standard web booking platform, a worldwide holiday search and filter tool, and a secure 'My Holiday' guest portal. The business carries ATOL (5667) and ABTOT (5194) financial protection for UK customers.

With approximately 13 employees, Scuba Travel operates at small-business scale, arranging over 2,000 diving holidays annually and maintaining a 4.9/5 verified Feefo rating with Platinum Trusted Service Award status. The company is privately held under founder ownership (Tony Backhurst), with no external investment, acquisitions, or ownership changes disclosed in the source material. There are no proprietary technology assets, AI/ML capabilities, or app products, and the underlying technology is described as standard travel booking infrastructure.

Name

Scuba Travel

Legal name

Tony Backhurst Scuba Limited

Website

https://scubatravel.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Scuba Travel is a UK-based independent travel agency founded in 1995 that arranges liveaboard and resort scuba diving holidays worldwide for individual certified divers, operating with a small specialist consultant team and long-standing operator partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Diving Holiday Travel Agency

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520), Travel Agencies (561510)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Island, Beach & Resort Travel Agencies (THAKAFAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Diving Experiences (Scuba Dives, Dive Trips, PADI/SSI Courses) (THAJAJAD), Underwater Photography & Videography Tours/Workshops (THAAAIAK)

Keywords

• Diving holiday booking
• Liveaboard travel
• Scuba resort holidays
• Wreck diving expeditions
• Underwater photography workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Holiday Package Bookings: Travel agency model arranging liveaboard and resort diving holidays worldwide. Revenue generated through booking commissions and service fees. Customers pay deposits (£500 for Red Sea, 30% for worldwide destinations) with balance due 90 days before travel.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Scuba Travel is an independent UK-based travel agency that arranges scuba diving holidays worldwide, specialising in liveaboard dive safaris and resort-based dive packages. The company works as an intermediary, booking divers onto partner vessels and at partner dive resorts across destinations including the Red Sea, Maldives, Indonesia, Philippines, Galapagos, Pacific and Caribbean, handling flights, transfers, accommodation and dive arrangements as consolidated packages. It also runs specialist escorted programs such as underwater photography workshops and wreck diving expeditions.

Product overview

Scuba Travel is an independent UK diving holiday specialist offering a portfolio of liveaboard diving vessels and resort accommodations across major dive destinations including the Red Sea (Egypt), Maldives, Indonesia (Raja Ampat, Komodo, Bali), Philippines, Galapagos, Pacific (Truk, Cocos, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Socorro), and Caribbean. The core offering consists of liveaboard diving holidays aboard partner vessels and dive resort bookings at partner properties. The product portfolio includes two specialist escorted programs: Alex Mustard Photography Workshops for underwater photographers and Mike Ward Wreck Expeditions for wreck diving enthusiasts. Additional services include a customer-facing My Holiday guest portal for booking management and a comprehensive search platform for browsing diving holidays by destination, date, price, and special offers. The company operates as a travel agency model, connecting divers with partner dive operators worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Liveaboard Diving Holidays Multi-day dive safari experiences aboard purpose-built partner liveaboard vessels at premier dive destinations worldwide, including the Red Sea, Maldives, Indonesia, Philippines, Galapagos, Pacific and Caribbean, with all diving, meals and accommodation arranged on board.
• Dive Resort Holidays Resort-based diving holidays at partner luxury island resorts and boutique dive properties across destinations including the Maldives, Bali, Manado, Philippines, Red Sea and Raja Ampat, with daily diving arranged through on-site dive centres.
• Alex Mustard Underwater Photography Workshops Escorted specialist diving holidays focused on underwater photography, led by Dr Alexander Mustard MBE, combining liveaboard diving with mentoring, tutorials and image critique sessions for passionate underwater photographers.
• Mike Ward Wreck Diving Expeditions Escorted wreck diving expeditions in the Red Sea led by wreck diving expert Mike Ward, providing guided access to historic wrecks with expert tuition in a small-group format.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4.9/5 average rating from thousands of verified independent reviews on Feefo platform

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Emperor FleetcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership with Emperor Fleet for Maldives liveaboard offerings including Emperor Explorer II, Emperor Serenity, Emperor Voyager, and other vessels in their fleet.
• Ocean Tribe Fleet (Ghazala boats)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Ocean Tribe Fleet for Ghazala Explorer and Ghazala Adventure Red Sea liveaboards, purpose-built diving vessels operated by the fleet.
• Various Dive Resorts and OperatorsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrusted network of dive centres, resorts, and liveaboard operators worldwide including Bandos Maldives, Six Senses Laamu, alamBatu Bali, Lembeh Resort, and many others.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Liveaboard.com: Online marketplace focused on liveaboard diving holidays globally, aggregating inventory from multiple fleets. Competes in the same liveaboard booking category as Scuba Travel's core product, representing the digital-native distribution alternative.
• Bluewater Travel: US-based dive travel agency specializing in worldwide liveaboard and resort diving holidays. Highly comparable model (commission-based agency, expert consultants, liveaboard-led product), differing primarily by serving the North American rather than UK customer base.
• Dive The World: Online dive holiday booking platform arranging liveaboard and resort dive trips worldwide. Same product category (diving holiday packages) and customer base, but differentiated by self-service online model versus Scuba Travel's consultant-led approach.
• Sportif Travel: UK specialist travel agency focused on walking, cycling, and diving holidays. Overlaps on the diving segment with similar consultant-led UK distribution and worldwide destination portfolio; comparable trust signals (ATOL-protected) and customer demographic.
• Original Diving: UK-based boutique diving holiday specialist offering worldwide dive trips with a curated, expert-led approach. Same core customer (UK certified divers), same destinations, and similar premium positioning in the agent-led niche.
• PADI Travel: Diving holidays booking platform operated by PADI, leveraging the world's largest diver certification body. Targets the same certified-diver customer with worldwide dive packages; a meaningful digital competitor to traditional dive travel agencies.
• Regaldive: UK dive holiday company offering liveaboard and resort packages across the Indian Ocean, Asia, and Caribbean. Directly comparable agent-led, commission-based model serving UK certified divers with similar destinations and product mix.
• Dive Worldwide: UK-based dive travel specialist arranging worldwide diving holidays to similar destinations (Red Sea, Maldives, Indonesia, Caribbean). Closely aligned business model: consultant-led bookings, ATOL-protected packages, similar customer base of certified recreational divers.

Broad incumbents

• Aggressor Liveaboards: Major global liveaboard operator with fleet across the Caribbean, Pacific, Indian Ocean, and other regions. Operates the supply side of the diving holiday product Scuba Travel resells; competes indirectly as an established direct-booking brand for the same customers.
• Emperor Divers: Red Sea and Maldives liveaboard operator and dive centre chain that is also a key supplier partner of Scuba Travel. Adjacent in the value chain — operates boats and dive centres while Scuba Travel distributes them — but increasingly invests in direct booking channels that compete with agency distribution.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/scuba-travel

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Scuba Travel