Scuba Diving Industry Market Report | Dive Industry Research
Survey Results: What is The Best Dive Training Agency in 2024?
What is the best training agency for recreational scuba diving? Tech diving? The worst?
Darcy Kieran is the author of the handbooks “Your Career and/or Life as a Scuba Diving Instructor: How to Make a Good Living Out of Your Passion for Scuba Diving” and “The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide To Scuba Diving: How to Increase Safety, Save Money & Have More Fun!”
Over the last few months, the Business of Diving Institute ran the second annual survey on dive training agencies with the goal of identifying if some training agencies had more credibility and trust than others.
We asked divers how likely they would recommend each dive training agency to their friends, family members, or colleagues.
We used a scale of 0 to 10, like the one used by businesses surveying their customers to determine a Net Promoter Score (NPS).
Considering the predominant role of training agencies in the dive industry, we intend to continue running this market study annually to evaluate trends.
Scuba Diving Training Agencies’ Brand Awareness & Familiarity
For each dive training agency, survey participants were asked to provide an answer based on their experience with dive centers & instructors affiliated with that dive training agency or to select “N/A” if they were not aware of that agency or did not know enough to have an opinion.
Therefore, “n/a” is an indirect way of measuring brand awareness & familiarity. And it is no surprise that PADI was the most well-known dive training agency.
Percentage of scuba divers who had no knowledge of each dive training agency or did not know enough to have an opinion:
- PADI: 2.9%
- DAN: 13.9%
- SSI: 17.2%
- GUE: 25.0%
- SDI: 25.8%
- TDI: 26.6%
- NAUI: 29.7%
- CMAS: 40.0%
- IANTD: 40.1%
- BSAC: 42.4%
- RAID: 45.3%
- UTD: 57.9%
- Dive Heart: 62.5%
- HSA: 65.6%
- PSS: 67.7%
- PFI: 68.6%
- PSAI: 70.3%
- SEI/PDIC: 73.1%
- NASE: 73.4%
- ACUC: 73.9%
Net Promoter Score (NPS)
The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a measure widely used by organizations to evaluate the quality of customer experience and predict business growth.
NPS uses a scale of 0 (not at all likely to recommend) to 10 (extremely likely).
Answers fall into three categories:
- Promoter: 9 or 10
- Passive: 7 or 8
- Detractor: 0 to 6
The NPS score is calculated as follows:
- (% of Promoters) — (% of Detractors) = NPS
The Net Promoter Score is a number from -100 to +100.
The perfect score of 100 is almost impossible for any business to achieve. These are the ranges suggested by Bain & Company, the creators of NPS:
- Above 80: World-class
- Above 50: Excellent
- Above 20: Favorable
- Above 0: Good
For instance, Rebreather Forum 4 got an NPS of 62 from its participants, which is excellent!
Dive Training Agencies Net Promoter Score (NPS)
Scuba divers are critical of dive training agencies, with only DAN (Divers Alert Network) scoring above 20. Only four other agencies scored above zero: TDI, Dive Heart, PFI, and SDI.
With these negative NPS scores and a consistently high drop-out rate (high attrition) among newly certified scuba divers, we are overdue to redesign the business model we use to introduce people to the underwater world.
Results from the 2023 survey on dive training agencies were posted here.
What’s with PADI?
The low net promoter score for PADI made us wonder if it was because non-PADI professionals love to hate PADI. But it doesn’t seem to be the case. In fact, PADI instructors have given an even lower score to PADI.
It is quite stunning that PADI instructors who answered this survey were much more likely to recommend SDI instead of PADI to their friends and family members for recreational scuba diving training.
What is the best tech diving training agency?
Based on these survey results, here are the Top 3 best training agencies for tech diving.
What is the best recreational scuba diving training agency?
Based on these survey results, here are the Top 3 best training agencies for recreational scuba diving.
What is the worst recreational scuba diving training agency?
Based on these survey results, here are the Bottom 3 worst training agencies for recreational scuba diving.
Please participate in the current version of this survey on dive training agencies. We will post the results in early 2025.
Who Participated in The Dive Training Agencies NPS Survey?
Seven hundred eighty-one (781) scuba divers participated in this second survey on scuba diving training agencies.
In which region survey respondents lived:
- USA: 42.7%
- Western Europe: 29.4%
- Canada: 7.4%
- Eastern Europe: 5.9%
- Other: 14.6%
In which age group were the respondents?
- 1946–1954 (Boomers I): 10.3%
- 1955–1964 (Boomers II/Generation Jones): 17.7%
- 1965–1980 (Gen X): 30.9%
- 1981–1996 (Millennials): 32.4%
- 1997–2012 (Gen Z): 8.8%
What was the gender of the respondents?
- Female: 27.1%
- Male: 71.6%
- Other/Non-binary/Prefer not to answer: 1.4%
What was the respondents’s relation to the dive industry?
- Dive center owner: 22.8%
- Dive instructor: 45.4%
- Scuba diver: 31.8%
Please participate in the current version of this survey on dive training agencies. We will post the results in early 2025.
Also from Darcy Kieran:
- Handbook: Your Career and/or Life as a Scuba Diving Instructor: How to Make a Good Living Out of Your Passion for Scuba Diving.
- Logbook: Advanced Scuba Diving Logbook with Checklists for certified scuba divers, divemasters & dive instructors.
- Handbook: Advanced Guide to SPF Scuba Diving for Scuba Divers, Divemasters & Dive Instructors: Develop Better Scuba Diving Skills, Dive Safer, Save Money & Have More Fun!
- Handbook: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide To Scuba Diving: How to Increase Safety, Save Money & Have More Fun!
- Logbook: STARTER Scuba Diving Logbook with Checklists while getting your open water diver certification!
- Reference book: Scuba Diving Industry Market Reports, Data & Statistics.
Side note: During your surface intervals, have a look at my novels with a scuba diving twist, starting with “Mystery of The Blue Dragon” and “Shadows on Ocean Drive.”
You could help the dive industry by taking part in ongoing dive industry surveys. You will also find results from our past scuba diving market studies here.
Don’t be left out! Subscribe to Scubanomics: The Dive Industry Compass to be the first to know about new dive industry market data & insights. Otherwise, be our “dive business buddy” on LinkedIn, Facebook, and elsewhere.
What now? Have a look at the complete Scubanomics Table of Contents.
