Dive Industry Market Report
Average Number of Dive Certifications Issued by Dive Centers & Independent Instructors in Europe & USA by Category (Benchmarking)
Dive Training Agencies Market Shares. Average Number of Annual Scuba Diving Certifications by Dive Centers and Independent Instructors in Europe & USA.
Darcy Kieran is the author of the handbook “Your Career and/or Life as a Scuba Diving Instructor: How to Make a Good Living Out of Your Passion for Scuba Diving” and unique advanced logbooks & checklists for scuba divers, divemasters & instructors.
As part of the State of The Dive Industry (SOTI) survey we conducted earlier this year, we asked independent scuba diving instructors and dive centers to answer a few questions about the certifications they issued last year.
Unfortunately, we can only provide statistics on scuba diving certifications in the USA and Western Europe because we did not get enough participation in the other geographical regions to provide statistically valid results. We are working on fixing this issue for the 2024 survey. You can help us provide you with better dive industry market reports by participating in our surveys and inviting your colleagues to do so. Please subscribe and invite your colleagues to participate in our ongoing dive industry market surveys.
Scuba diving certification activities in Europe and the USA are quite different, as you can see from the scuba diving market report below.
You may consult the number of SOTI respondents per business category and geographical region here.
Average Number of Annual Scuba Diving Certifications by Dive Centers and Independent Instructors in Europe & USA
Please indicate the number of certifications/participants you had in each of the following training segments in 2022.
Average Number of Scuba Diving Certifications in The USA
The average dive center in the USA issue 154 entry-level open-water diver certifications per year, and about half of these students, on average, take the second level of training (e.g., advanced open-water diver).
In the dive industry, independent instructors are often dismissed as an insignificant part of scuba diving activities. Yet, five independent instructors introduce the same number of people to scuba diving as one dive center.
Otherwise, even with the increased popularity of rebreather diving, “regular” tech diving (excluding cave, sidemount & rebreather) remains a significant sector with more than twice the number of certs as rebreathers.
Average Number of Scuba Diving Certifications in Western Europe
On average, dive centers in Western Europe issue the same number of entry-level open-water diver certifications as one independent scuba diving instructor. However, European dive centers are much better at bringing these new scuba divers into advanced scuba diving training.
Based on these numbers, dive centers in Western Europe are smaller than in the USA, as we had already reported when looking at the economic profile of dive centers.
Popularity of Dive Training Agencies
What are all the training agencies with which you offer training or certifications? Select all that apply.
There is no surprise that PADI is more prominent in the USA than in Europe. However, the SSI number is more enlightening. Despite how much they trumpet having stolen market shares from PADI, it appears SDI has done a better job than SSI at enlisting dive centers and instructors.
The numbers reported above were for the number of dive centers and instructors affiliated with a dive training agency. It is more interesting to look at the main dive training agency with whom they issue certification. For instance, a dive center could be affiliated with five dive training agencies but always issue certifications with one in particular.
So let’s look at it!
Scuba Diving Training Agencies Market Shares
What is the dive training agency with which you most frequently provide training?
Based on this extensive survey, the three main dive training agencies for entry-level open-water diver certifications are, in order:
- In the USA: PADI, NAUI, SDI
- In Western Europe: PADI, CMAS, SSI
NEW: Announcing Market Viz Project (MVP) To Generate Scuba Diving Market Size Reports
The State Of The (dive) Industry (SOTI) survey provides us with decline, flat, or growth trends. But it doesn’t tell us the actual market size in dollars (or other currencies). Therefore, we are pushing out work further with the MVP project.
The SOTI and MVP studies are part of a series of dive industry surveys by the Business of Diving Institute in collaboration with InDepth Magazine with support from DAN Europe, Shearwater, GUE, and most importantly, YOU! Besides participating in this survey, please let us know if you would like to add your name to the official list of supporters.
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.
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What now? Have a look at the complete Scubanomics Table of Contents.
