WhY
OCEAN
ADVENTURES?
The global demand for marine adventure sports is growing rapidly, with the scuba diving industry projected to reach $4 billion by 2025 and surfing attracting over 35 million people worldwide. Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia, is becoming a hotspot for these activities due to its rich marine biodiversity and relatively serene coastal tourism sites.
While marine tourism—when done right—can boost local economies, it also places immense pressure on fragile marine ecosystems. Coral reefs are particularly vulnerable, as increased foot traffic, plastic pollution, and motorboat use damage sensitive habitats. While there is a rising demand for responsible tourism from conscious travelers, many local operators lack the access and capital to make the necessary transitions.
This is the system we’re here to shift, together.
WHy indonesia?
We are a women-led cooperative founded in Indonesia dedicated to transforming the marine tourism industry to protect oceans and economies.
With 17,000 islands and the second-longest coastline in the world, Indonesia sits at the heart of global marine biodiversity within the Coral Triangle—home to 76% of the world’s coral species and over 2,000 species of reef fish. Its waters are critical for global ecosystem health and for the livelihoods of local communities. It’s no wonder that over 16 million people (and climbing) come here every year to scuba+free dive, surf, whale watch, snorkel, hike, dine and enjoy the famous Indonesian hospitality and generosity.
Indonesia’s government is banking on this continued tourism growth to fuel the country’s future development. Through its “Ten New Balis” initiative, coastal areas like Lombok and Labuan Bajo are at risk of becoming hubs for foreign-owned, profit-driven enterprises. This influx of private investment often excludes local cultures, livelihoods, and environmental stewardship wisdom.
Blue Wave Collective is joining this space to ensure that growth happens differently—empowering local communities to lead conservation-based marine tourism initiatives that protect biodiversity, prioritize long-term ecological health, and capture equitable economic value. We believe experimenting with ownership structures for cooperative management and benefit of our collective ocean resources is a missing piece of the puzzle.
Our current R+D explores:
what will it take to realize COMMUnitY Profit-sharing and governance in indonesian marine tourism operations?
THE blue wave model
Blue Wave Living Laboratory | An operational hub for conservation-based tourism experimentation and community-led governance
Blue Wave Certification | An emerging standard for conscious consumption of marine tourism, scoring practices across:
✦ Business: e.g. Local ownership, fair labor, and community investment.
✦ Culture: e.g. Safety + Inclusion (LGBTQ+, gender, mobility), staff diversity and representation, and cultural competence (linguistic, religious, etc).
✦ Ocean Health: e.g. Coral reef protection, citizen science, plastic reduction + reuse, and pollution mitigation.
✦ Climate + Environment: e.g. Waste circularity, renewable energy use, and weather resilience.
Blue Wave Regeneration Fund | A financing vehicle providing capital to operators transitioning to sustainable, regenerative practices.
DIVE IN
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We want to connect with you! We're actively recruiting Indonesia-based dive centers and surf schools, especially in Lombok + Sumbawa, for our discovery research, which explores topics including:
Your business ownership structure
Your employment practices
Your local community inclusion initiatives
Your sustainable and eco-conscious operations
Your advice as we grow a collective knowledge bank of opportunities and challenges
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Your relationships to ocean ecologies and marine-based livelihoods are particularly unique, we have so much to learn from you!
Our discovery research wants to hear about:
Your perspective, experience, and passion
Your understanding of the landscape, ecosystem, and interrelated industries
Barriers to sustainable and ethical practices
Opportunities for more sustainable and ethical practice
Your recommendations and requests - who else should we engage? What kind of support do you need?
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What matters to you when you plan your adventures? What dimensions drive your purchasing choices when it comes to selecting holiday sites, dive masters, surf schools, and accommodations? How much of a premium are you willing to spend on sustainable and local experiences? Let’s chat!
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We are too! We’re ocean lovers, swimmers, divers and surfers - that might be why we take our next wave analogy a little too far sometimes. If you’re looking for operators, we have some recommendations for that too!
We're also actively seeking connections to Indonesian women who currently [or could potentially] offer surfing lessons, dive trainings, and site guiding. Please reach out if you know anyone!