PANAMA CITY — Key West’s loss is Panama City’s gain.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will move a winter diving training program from Key West to Panama City this winter to reduce the cost of the program, said Greg McFall, director of NOAA’s Diving Program.
McFall said the decision to move the three-week program was based on the area’s world-class dive training facilities, including the Navy Dive School at Naval Support Activity Panama City, the underwater crime scene investigation program at Florida State University Panama City, and the NOAA Panama City Laboratory, which studies, among other things, fish populations.
“Panama City is a beautiful city, so it seemed like the right choice to make, with the synergy of all the other attributes,” McFall said, referring to local diving programs. “You have the best federal, Department of Defense training facility right there.”
But the driving factor was cost, he said.
“Frankly, it all comes down to dollars and sense — sense spelled S-E-N-S-E,” McFall said.
Lodging in Panama City is considerably less expensive than lodging in Key West, McFall said. Rooms here will cost the program about $80 per night compared to $240 per night in Key West, he said.
About 30 students total will participate in the training program, and they’ll divide their days between classroom instruction at FSU Panama City and diving practice, McFall said. The students will learn from eight instructors who also will travel to the area for the program.
Factor in the money participants will spend on airfare, rental cars and meals at local restaurants and what you’ve got is a nice boost to the area’s economy, said Michael Zinszer, director of the Advance Science Diving Program at FSU Panama City. Zinszer estimated the program might result in $100,000 or more flowing into the local economy this year.
Aside from the economic benefits the program should bring, it also will bring attention to the area’s strength in ocean science, Zinszer said.
“To be able to draw these types of programs to our area ... really spotlights the capability of diving and ocean research in our community,” Zinszer said.
Zinszer said the training program, which started Thursday and runs through Jan. 31, will be held in Panama City annually for the foreseeable future.
