PRESS RELEASE New PADI Regional Head Office, PADI EMEA opens

The establishment of the new office brings local members more products and customer support.

BRISTOL, GÖTEBORG, HETTLINGEN   19.01.2012 -- Starting right now, PADI Members in Europe, the Middle East and Africa will receive more customer service and support through the combined forces of PADI International Ltd., PADI Europe and PADI Nordic in 2012. The new regional office, PADI EMEA (PADI Europe, Middle East and Africa), unites the talents and resources of the three offices in order to offer PADI Members an unparalleled level of support, service and products.

„With this new cooperation we are creating a new, strong and innovative service for our members – with a team that understands many different languages and cultures“, stated Vice President of Sales, Marketing & Market Development, Jean-Claude Monachon. „We have employees who speak Italian, French, Spanish, Polish, Finnish, German and Swiss-German – just a few of the languages in which we take care of PADI Members. The market must be developed further and that is exactly what we are doing for you: with our customer service, innovative marketing ideas, a broad offering of support in eBusiness and tailor-made training programs.“

PADI EMEA is the largest PADI Regional Headquarters and handles more than 2,565 Retail and Resort members as well as 57,500 individual members who certify more than 380,000 divers per year. In order to satisfy the demands of this culturally diverse and highly differentiated group of members, the opening hours and the online services of PADI EMEA have been expanded and customer service is now also available in more than 20 languages.  The centralization of services makes possible the quick processing of member and diver certifications, uniform marketing campaigns, greater support through PADI eLearning®, simpler price configuration, expanded options in searching for and posting jobs as well as simplified mobility for Instructors. Besides that, the size of the regional office significantly increases its influence and ability to integrate with media, with government and with partners in the industry.

„The new PADI Regional Headquarters, with its wide-ranging diving locations and individual needs is a challenge that we are ready for and pleased to handle“, stated Vice President Finance & Operations, Neil Fishburne. „Our employees are looking forward to working with our members throughout EMEA in promoting diving and developing the market.“

Mark Caney, Vice President, Training and Customer Services: „The creation of PADI EMEA is a logical next step that will provide many advantages to PADI Members. More than 140 employees work for PADI EMEA, among them 40 PADI Course Directors - diving experts who have trained thousands of divers, undertaken extreme technical dives as well as managed large dive centers and resorts. With this concentration of in-depth knowledge we can support the diving professionals in the region extremely well. Nobody can compete with us in these areas.“

PADI EMEA is groundbreaking for the regional diving industry, in customer service, sales, in business support, training, marketing and consultation. For further information on PADI EMEA please contact Jean-Claude Monachon, Tel: +41 52 304 14 14, or Sylvia Ross, Tel. +41 52 304 14 14, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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