CMAS is the World Diving Association. It is a non-profit organization with members in 114 countries and is acting as the umbrella organisation for the national associations in the same direction. The CMAS organisation in Thailand is the TDA (Thailand Diving Association). Together with representatives form 15 other countries; Jacques-Eves Cousteau was the founder of this worldwide organisation in 1959.

CMAS has more than 100 000 instructors in more than 114 countries, who give diver education according to standards of CMAS, a representative of a non-profit diving organisation. This is also proved by the widely governmental acceptance of the CMAS diver brevets – partially at all stages-, especially at instructor level by the national associations; in some cases even legally required.

CMAS, as the World Diving Organisation sets its focus on a good and solid diver education and not on commercial competition or aggressive growth. It acts as an umbrella establishment for each member country. The quickest way to obtain a diving certification is not the spotlight of CMAS. Also, further levels of training vary a lot from other commercial orientated diving organisations, because CMAS requires “between” the levels minimum requirements for experience (e.g. number of dives) and mastering of practical and theoretical knowledge of diving. This continues also at instructor level, where the candidate is required to volunteer at a dive centre to earn sufficient experience before the certification. Unfortunately, this is not a requirement at other commercial orientated diving organisations.