Our company · Our experience · Our approach
About Ocean Roamers
Ocean Roamers is a marine tourism, management and project-development company with roots in the international diving industry and the growth of Red Sea resort tourism. We bring together operational experience, marine tourism consulting and operations management, and an understanding of how hospitality, marine recreation and coastal resources depend on one another.
Our foundations
Our origins and evolution
First incorporated in the Netherlands in 2003, Ocean Roamers formalised work that founder Henri Hemmerechts had already been doing independently for years. The company was subsequently also incorporated and operated in Egypt and Sudan.
Its development connects the international diving industry with a wider understanding of coastal tourism: boat operations, water sports, hospitality, marine parks and the practical demands of developing and managing remote destinations.
Experience gained through the expansion of Red Sea tourism continues to shape Ocean Roamers’ approach to coastal operations and its development focus in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Founder & professional direction
Henri Hemmerechts
Henri Hemmerechts provides Ocean Roamers’ professional direction, drawing on a career that combines executive consultancy, operations management, professional diving, instructor development and work as a boat captain.
His background in water sports began before his professional diving career and included windsurfing, followed by diving, boat operations, dive travel and charter tourism. He began working in Egypt in 1992, during an early phase of the country’s major expansion in Red Sea diving and resort tourism.
Working through that growth brought experience in developing services, managing expanding operations and establishing professional standards as new investment transformed the coastline. It also exposed the consequences of development decisions: how growth can strengthen a destination, and how pressure on prices, operating quality and natural resources can undermine its long-term value.
His experience as a training director and instructor educator provides a practical understanding of professional standards: how they are developed, taught and applied, and how they must translate into daily operating decisions.
His instructor-training background spans several international systems, including qualifications as a NAUI Course Director and SSI Instructor Certifier.
He was awarded the Platinum Pro 5000 Award in 2010, joining the ranks of legendary divers and ocean explorers including Jacques Mayol, Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Sylvia Earle.
Industry relationships
International industry experience
Ocean Roamers’ experience in dive tourism and coastal development spans water-sports services, hospitality, food-and-beverage economics, marine parks and demanding remote operations. It connects work in the field with the commercial and organisational responsibilities of owners, operators and international partners.
Henri’s experience includes developing diving-industry activity in Egypt and North Africa through management, training and representative roles with Scuba Schools International (SSI) and the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI). His involvement continued through subsequent consulting assignments and remote executive work.
Experience working with hotel groups including Marriott and Steigenberger added the perspective of large hospitality organisations: service expectations, operating procedures, staff development and the integration of specialist marine activities into the wider resort experience.
This combination of industry relationships and practical management experience informs how Ocean Roamers works with independent businesses, resort operators and destination partners.
Our operating perspective
The complete coastal operation
Ocean Roamers considers the whole coastal operation. A resort’s accommodation, food and beverage, beach use, diving, water sports, excursions and boats form a connected commercial ecosystem.
Guest flow, staffing, logistics, safety and environmental stewardship influence both the quality of the experience and the economics of the business. Assessing these elements together helps identify missed opportunities, operational friction and development choices that fit the location. This integrated perspective underpins our coastal and marine tourism services.
High standards and responsible development are central to this approach. Commercial growth must be supported by the capacity to deliver it and by protection of the natural resources on which the destination depends.
Environmental sustainability is a condition of accepting an assignment. Where an existing operation needs improvement, the owner’s commitment to implementing the necessary changes forms part of that assessment.
Our team model
The project determines the team
Ocean Roamers is deliberately lean. A core professional network provides continuity, while project-specific specialists and local partners are assembled according to each assignment.
The project determines the team: its expertise, responsibilities and presence on site. This structure combines clear professional direction with the range of skills needed to deliver the work.
Our next chapter
Geographic evolution
The Red Sea remains an important part of Ocean Roamers’ history and international network. Its current development focus is increasingly expanding toward Latin America and the Caribbean, including Venezuela.
This new chapter draws on experience gained through an earlier destination’s rapid growth. The aim is to help develop commercially sound operations, establish high standards from the outset and avoid repeating mistakes that weaken a destination’s environmental quality and long-term value.