Diving in Dwejra hasn’t lost popularity since the Azure window came crashing down, Simon Sciberras, Chairman of the Professional Diving Schools Association (PDSA) told The Malta Independent, and is still the number one shore diving spot in Gozo.

The main attraction for divers in the area is, of course, the Blue hole, however divers are also tourists, he said. “When the Azure window was there, we were hitting two birds with one stone. It is missed, but the site has not lost popularity for divers.” The area is also home to the inland sea.

The Azure window, Malta’s most iconic site, was destroyed during a bad weather spell last March, after years of erosion which saw parts of the natural window being slowly eaten away by the elements.

The site “was and still is the number one shore dive site in Gozo... we can say it was the most popular and remained the most popular,” he said.

Simone Brinch Iverson, a PDSA representative who has dived around the reef near the window, said that “the collapse of the window has made what was previously a pretty reef dive, into a spectacular dive with many swim throughs, crevices, and super rock formations turning it into a much more interesting dive.”

(Photos Leah Binch Iverson)

She explained that the PDSA is urging divers not to pass through the swim-throughs until the rocks have had time to secure/ stabilise themselves. “It will take a good storm or two to make sure the rocks are secure before divers should attempt to swim between the rocks.”

CEO of the Malta Tourism Authority Paul Bugeja told The Malta Independent that talks are ongoing with the Dwejra Committee to ensure that there aren’t too many dives occurring at the same time, to see safety questions etc. He noted that demand for diving in the area has increased.

The MTA has plans to use the window’s collapse to promote diving, he said. “It’s a continuous exercise. When it comes to the diving niche it is a continuous programme of marketing, not just due to the window but now obviously we have another reason to continue advertising diving in Malta with this add-on.”

Before Dwejra was an icon above ground, now we need to change this and refer to Dwejra with the window underwater, so that we can keep its legacy going, he said. “What we’ve lost on top we gained below”. He said they will try not to leave it just as a niche for divers, but also target those who have Dwejra at heart.