Dive Industry Statistics | Market Data
Good News in Q3: Scuba Diving Certifications in The First 9 Months of 2021
Entry-level open water certifications rebounded in the USA in Q2 & Q3 but are still below pre-pandemic levels.
Darcy Kieran is the author of the reference book “Scuba Diving Industry Market Size & Statistics.”
After a disastrous 2020 and a rough start to 2021, the last 6 months (April to September of 2021) have shown us that there may be light at the end of the tunnel. Let’s recap, starting at the beginning of the year.
Scuba Diving Certifications in Q1: January to March
In the first quarter of 2021, we witnessed a decline in entry-level scuba diving certifications of 16.9% over 2020, which was itself 20.4% lower than 2019.
The first quarter of 2020 had only gotten a partial impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the virus was in the news at the end of 2019, tourism only started to be significantly impacted toward the end of that first quarter when numerous countries shut their borders down.
Here are the year-over-year changes in Q1 (January, February, March):
- 2021 over 2020: -16.9%
- 2020 over 2019: -20.4%
- 2019 over 2018: +7.3%
- 2018 over 2017: -12.1%
Overall, the drop in open water scuba certifications in the first quarter of this year was -33.9% over the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
Scuba Diving Certifications in Q2: April to June
For the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, scuba diving certifications were up in the USA, year over year, in the second quarter.
The second quarter of 2020 was the first quarter fully affected by the COVID-19 pandemic that started at the end of that quarter with countries closing their borders to tourism. The dive industry faced a drop of 73.3% in entry-level dive certifications in Q2 of 2020 over 2019.
This year, in 2021, with vaccines rolling out and countries gradually re-opening to tourism in the second quarter, we got an increase of 222.6% over last year.
Yet, this second quarter of 2021 is still lower than the pre-pandemic level, with 37 thousand certifications this year compared to 43 thousand in 2019, which is a decrease of 13.8%.
Here are the year-over-year changes in Q2 (April, May, June):
- 2021 over 2020: +222.6%
- 2020 over 2019: -73.3%
- 2019 over 2018: -1.7%
- 2018 over 2017: -12.1%
The dive industry was already in a steady decline before the start of the pandemic.
Scuba Diving Certifications in Q3: July to September
Q3 delivered good news, just like Q2 did with scuba diving certifications up, year over year, in the USA.
Once again, although we got an increase over 2020, the number of open water scuba certifications remained lower than pre-pandemic levels.
Here are the year-over-year changes in Q3 (April, May, June):
- 2021 over 2020: +42.1%
- 2020 over 2019: -33.3%
- 2019 over 2018: -2.8%
- 2018 over 2017: -6.2%
In Q3, just like in Q2, the dive industry was already in a steady decline before the start of the pandemic.
Scuba Diving Certifications In The First 9 Months of 2021
This is what it looks, so far, for the first 9 months of 2021, combined.
Here are the year-over-year changes for the first 9 months of each year:
- 2021 over 2020: +53.3%
- 2020 over 2019: -44.6%
- 2019 over 2018: -0.2%
- 2018 over 2017: -9.7%
An Advanced Look at The 4th Quarter
This is what we experienced in the last quarter of the last four years.
These were the year-over-year changes in certifications in the last quarter (October to December) of each year:
- 2021 over 2020: Awaiting Results
- 2020 over 2019: -31.9%
- 2019 over 2018: +1.9%
- 2018 over 2017: -7.5%
How are the open water certification numbers generated?
The quarterly reports on entry-level open water scuba certifications in the USA are produced by DEMA, the Diving Equipment & Marketing Association, using data received from PADI, NAUI, and SDI. An averaged estimate of non-reporting dive certification agencies is added to produce the final numbers.
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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