Underwater Museums - A Global Trend in Diving Tourism

Underwater museums are different from sinking objects like ships and planes to create diving attractions. Underwater museums consist of sinking works of art made for this purpose and, as art, with the clear intention of provoking emotions and senses in visitors.

Conceived as places to promote education, preserve and protect the marine and natural environment as an integral part of the human value system, underwater museums have been built around the world also as a way to encourage diving tourism and boost local economies.

Mexico, France, Russia, Turkey, Croatia, Australia, and Greece are destinations that have innovated by focusing on underwater art, and the images that spread across the internet help promote these destinations far beyond the ocean floor.

The new IBAMA regulation on the subject, published in 2021, demystified the idea that it was impossible to obtain authorization for the sinkings, changing the understanding from zero impact to minimal impact, since any action without any impact is impossible. At the same time, there are already understandings, including from the environmental agencies of the State of São Paulo, about the positive impact of the installations in preventing bottom trawling.

At the forefront as always, visual artist Gilmar Pinna proposed his works in stainless steel, completely harmless in terms of waste, to install the first underwater museum in Brazil. The innovation, beyond the material, lies in placing the works at such a depth that they can be visited with the new transparent-bottom boats, as well as by diving. The format generates media coverage for the host destination, but also generates direct income for nautical tourism workers in the region.

It remains to be seen which tourist destination will be the pioneer in Brazil.