This thesis explores the role of comfort in adventure leisure and in recreational SCUBA diving in particular. In this chapter the study’s central elements of comfort, constraints and negotiation will be introduced. Human engagement with marine locations provides background to the evolution of SCUBA diving as a leisure activity. The concept of comfort is then introduced, with attention given to what comfort means from a range of disciplines. Following this, the use of the term comfort in adventure, leisure and tourism research is reviewed.
Divers’ constraints to comfort are also briefly examined here in this introduction, to build understanding of how comfort can be experienced during adventure, and SCUBA diving. Leisure constraints-negotiation research is discussed briefly and linked to SCUBA diving experiences. The objectives of this study are then presented prior to introducing the qualitative research paradigm that guides the research, and the thesis outline.