Quality (philosophy)

Marine protected area

2019-20 coronavirus outbreak

Habitat

Philosophy

Ecology

Visitor pattern

Biology

Virology

Tourism

Archaeology

Computer science

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

Outbreak

Environmental health

Geology

Business

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Environmental planning

Oceanography

Geography

Scuba diving

Environmental resource management

Epistemology

Population

Infectious disease (medical specialty)

Environmental science

Recreation

Environmental protection

Medicine

Programming language

Pandemic

Zoology

Disease

Pathology

Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism

Faced with the need for isolation of most people to reduce the transmission of COVID-19, a great concern for the well-being of the population has resurfaced. Considering the numerous benefits of outdoor activities to human health and well-being, we assessed whether the quality of the experience of recreational divers in a marine protected area (MPA) was impacted during the pandemic. We applied a semi-structured questionnaire to divers, collected their socioeconomic profile, preferences, motivations, experiences, and compared the results with those obtained in the previous season. We found that the quality of the recreational diver's experience remained high even during one of the world's biggest health crises. This suggests that the combination of contact with a preserved environment and the adaptation of regulations in favor of visitor safety was enough to stimulate positive experiences. Therefore, we highlight the importance of investing in adaptive management so that MPAs continue to promote ecosystem services such as human health and subjective well-being.•Quality of experience for recreational divers remained high and was unaffected after the first major wave of COVID-19 cases.•Through adaptive tourism management, MPAs can promote positive experiences even in challenging contexts.•High impact of environmental attributes on the quality of divers' experience reinforces that threats to ecosystems are social impacts.•Socially unequal access to benefits generated by MPAs may negatively influence population's support for these areas.•Efforts are needed to strengthen the equity of distribution of positive social impacts in MPAs.•Potential to provide positive experiences for users must be seen beyond economic value, but as an investment in the population's subjective well-being.

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on SCUBA diving experience in marine protected areas