DR MARC L. MILLER

Marc is Professor in the School of Marine Studies and Adjunct Professor in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences and the Department of Anthropology at the University of Washington (Seattle, Washington, USA). He has published widely on the topics of coastal tourism and recreation management, marine protected area management, fisheries management, integrated coastal zone management, and marine environmental ethics and aesthetics. In recent years, his work has taken him to the coasts of the United States, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Costa Rica, Peru, Spain, South Africa, the Philippines, the Hawaiian Islands, Guam, Palau (Micronesia) and the Galapagos Islands.

Marc has co-edited three proceedings (1991, 1998, 2002) of the first three CMTs. In addition, he was an Associate Editor of Coastal Management from 1983 until 1993, and has served as an Associate Editor of the Sage Qualitative Research Methods Series since the series began in 1986. He also serves as the Research Commentary and Notes Editor of Tourism in Marine Environments and a Coordinating Editor for Annals of Tourism Research.

RAINER SCHIMPF

Rainer Schimpf is the founder and owner of Dive Expert Tours, and has been diving and operating in Port Elizabeth since 1999. Dive Expert Tours focuses mainly on foreign dive tourists, but also specializes in Marine logistics and film crew hosting. In this line of work Rainer is not restricted to the common dive sites. Rainer takes a lot of underwater footage primarily to illustrate to customers and film crews what can be seen in the area, so that they can make more informed selections of site and subject, resulting in better underwater film footage.

Rainer produced an underwater DVD titled "Ocean Messengers" and established the Ocean Messengers NGO to promote marine education and awareness. The film Ocean Messengers was officially launched nationally and internationally in 2007 at various international film festivals, and has received a number of awards. Rainer was the recipient of the prestigious SA National Parks Kudu Award in 2008 in recognition of his efforts to promote environmental awareness.

PROFESSOR MARK ORAMS

Professor Mark Orams is a respected researcher with interests in marine science, coastal and marine tourism, sport management and sustainable development. He is an Associate Director of the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute at AUT University in New Zealand and serves on the editorial boards for the journals Tourism in Marine Environments and Coastal Management and for the Encyclopedia of Tourism and Recreation in Marine Environments. Mark has published three books, including the first published text on marine tourism, and over 30 scientific papers on coastal and marine tourism related research.

Mark’s research experience is diverse but he is primarily interested in applied research projects that have tangible benefits for resource management. He is particularly attracted to pursuing research outcomes that focus on informing wise decisions for policy makers, managers and industry practitioners. Topics of interest include; coastal, marine and island recreation and tourism, ecotourism and nature-based tourism, sport tourism and special events, extreme and adventure tourism, wilderness and wildlife.

DR JEFF WILKS

Jeff is the Managing Director of Tourism Safety. A qualified psychologist and lawyer, he has a special interest in the health and safety of travelers in marine settings, and the risk management of tourist destinations. Jeff has worked as a scuba diving instructor on the Great Barrier Reef and in 2004 was awarded an International Life Saving Federation Citation of Merit for his contribution to beach safety. He is lead author on seven tourism safety books and more than 150 refereed papers and book chapters. Jeff is currently an Adjunct Professor in Public Health and Tropical Medicine at James Cook University.

DR MICHAEL LÜCK

Michael (Micha) is Associate Professor of Tourism Studies and Head of Department (Tourism & Events) at the Auckland University of Technology. Michael is the Program Leader, Postgraduate Tourism Programs in the School of Hospitality & Tourism at AUT. He is the Associate Director of the New Zealand Tourism Research Unit and Editor-in-Chief: Tourism in Marine Environments. He is also Associate Editor: Journal of Ecotourism. Michael was the Chairman of the 5th International Coastal & Marine Tourism Congress held at AUT in Auckland, New Zealand during September 2007.