Results from new scuba diving industry market research and statistics.
I hope this message finds you well and, especially, healthy!
We have new posts you may be interested in about dive industry market data, the 2020 online DEMA Show, and the tragic fire accident aboard The Conception liveaboard.
Dive Industry Market Data
Over the last few weeks, we’ve accessed and summarized dive industry market data, research, and statistics:
- Scuba diving certifications in the USA during the first 9 months of 2020.
- Sales of dive gear around the world by looking at Scubapro’s financial results.
- 5-year trends in the dive industry, based on DEMA’s 2015 and 2020 behavioral research reports.
- An assessment of the current dive industry and its post-coronavirus future, by surveyed dive professionals. …
Trends on eLearning, rebreathers, side-mount diving, scuba certification during travel, and freediving.
DEMA recently published the results of its 2020 ‘Dive Behavioral Research Project’ from a survey conducted in 2019. A previous dive behavioral research was conducted in 2014.
We have reviewed the results of both the 2019 and the 2014 studies to identify key pieces of information to help you manage your dive business. We are especially interested in changes between these 2 reports to identify trends in the scuba diving industry.
About DEMA’s Dive Behavioral Research Project
The goal of the project to analyze and understand the demographics and psychographics of scuba divers as it pertains to dive travel, scuba diving equipment purchases, and scuba courses.
DEMA is the Diving Equipment & Marketing Association commonly referred to as our dive industry trade association. …
Be wary of rosy dive industry market data reports.
Updated on November 16, 2020.
Because of the Scubanomics project and dive industry discussions, here, on Medium, I regularly get contacted by people interested in finding more information and statistics about the dive industry: private equity analysts, current dive industry executives, dive instructors considering a new local dive shop, students working on a thesis, private investors, dive shop owners trying to make sense of their financial results in a challenging scuba diving industry, dive gear manufacturers trying to grow their sales, and the list goes on.
They almost invariably ask me about a scuba diving industry market study they purchased that doesn't seem to match the reality they see happening in the dive industry. …
Table of Content
Subscribe to Scubanomics to know when new information becomes available. Thanks for stopping by! Dive safe.
1) Scubanomics Sections
- Latest Scubanomics Posts
- All Scubanomics Posts
- a) Scuba Diving Industry Statistics, Market Data & Structure
- b) Scuba Diving Industry Analysis
- c) Scuba Diving Industry Strategies
- d) Dive Professional Career & Dive Center Management
- Lessons Learned: Strategic Lessons from Outside the Dive Industry
- News & Editorials
- Special Section: The Scuba Diving Industry & COVID-19
2) Scubanomics Posts
Latest Scubanomics Posts
All Scubanomics Posts
a) Scuba Diving INDUSTRY STATISTICS, Market DATA & STRUCTURE:
.
Latest Market Data Updates:
- 5-Year Trends in The Dive Industry: Scuba Gear, Dive Travel & Certifications. Trends on eLearning, rebreathers, side-mount diving, scuba certification during travel, and freediving.
- Market Data: Scuba Diving Certifications in the USA in the first 9 months of 2020. Open water dive certifications during the coronavirus pandemic. …
Open water dive certifications during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Open Water Certification Census for the USA is produced by DEMA, the Diving Equipment & Marketing Association in San Diego, California. A summary is available to all, while DEMA members also have access to the detailed report, state by state.
We’ve already analyzed the first 2 quarters of 2020 when providing an overview of where the dive industry stands during this COVID-19 pandemic. Data for the 3rd quarter (July, August & September) is now available.
After a disastrous second quarter, the dive industry did better in the third quarter of 2020.
While in the 2nd quarter, the number of new entry-level open water certifications was 73% less than during the same period in 2019, in the 3rd quarter, the drop was only 33%. …
Sales of scuba diving equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic
Scubapro is one of the few dive gear manufacturers for which we can obtain official financial results. As such, it can give us an idea of the state of the industry.
Scubapro is own by Johnson Outdoors, a publicly-traded company (JOUT). We obtain Scubapro’s financial reports through their filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and in Johnson Outdoors annual reports to shareholders.
Scubapro Worldwide Financial Results for The First 2 Quarters of 2020
The first 6 months (2 quarters) of 2020 have been devastating for Scubapro.
During the first 3 months of 2020, Johnson Outdoors experienced a 29% decline in sales in its scuba diving equipment division which means about US$5.8 million less in revenues. The following 3 months were atrocious for Scubapro with a reduction of US$9.5 …
What happened on Labor Day 2019 in California?
Last updated on November 11, 2020, including follow-up actions by the U.S. Coast Guard.
On Labor Day in September 2019, off the coast of California, a fire aboard the MV Conception, a 75-foot (23-meter) scuba diving liveaboard, broke out during the night, killing 33 passengers and one crew member. The captain and four crew members barely escaped.
An assessment of the current dive industry and its post-coronavirus future, by surveyed dive professionals
In August and September 2020, William Cline conducted a qualitative survey of scuba diving professionals worldwide to evaluate shifts happening in scuba diving training, dive travel, and scuba equipment purchases. Cline published the results in October 2020. Thanks, William!
What can we learn from the survey results? How can we benefit from “seismic shifts in our dive consumer base,” as William says? What are the opportunities?
We’ll summarize the highlights from this survey and further focus on what it means for your dive business.
Key Results From This October 2020 Dive Industry Survey
As the survey was composed of four open-ended questions, results can only be taken as an indication of current topics of interest to scuba diving industry professionals. These ‘topics’ are a melting pot of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (the four parts of a SWOT Analysis). …
I hope this message finds you well and, especially, healthy!
It’s been a crazy year and unfortunately, it’s not over. The dive industry has been hit hard. Dive training agencies, scuba gear manufacturers, local dive shops, dive resorts, instructors… We all suffered in one way or another. Professionally and personally.
Here are a few topics we’ve discussed in the Scubanomics publication on Medium in case you’ve missed them.
First, we looked at how badly hurt the dive industry has been and what comes next?
If there is a silver lining to all of this turmoil, it’s ‘local diving’ including dive training and local dive outings. Often the poor parent of the dive industry, ‘local diving’ and ‘inland diving’ have seen a resurgence. …
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