Dive Industry Statistics | Market Data
Scuba Diving Certifications After 2 Years of Pandemic: From 2019 to 2021, Full Year
Entry-level open-water scuba certifications rebounded in the USA in 2021 but remain below pre-pandemic levels.
Darcy Kieran is the author of the reference book “Scuba Diving Industry Market Size & Statistics.”
Note: Follow-up update with full-year numbers for 2022, here.
The numbers are in for scuba diving certifications in the USA in the fourth quarter of 2021.
First, we’ll look at what happened during Q4 (October to December). Then, we’ll check the evolution from pre-pandemic annual levels (2019) to the first year of COVID-19 (2020) and last year (2021) to get an idea of where the scuba diving industry may be heading in 2022.
After a disastrous 2020 and a rough start to 2021, the last 9 months of 2021 (April to December) 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 20.4% lower than 2019.
The first quarter of 2020 had only received a partial impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the virus was in the news at the end of 2019, it significantly affected tourism only toward the end of that first quarter when many 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 2021 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, 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.
Last year, in 2021, with vaccines rolling out and countries gradually re-opening to tourism in the second quarter, we saw an increase of 222.6% over 2020.
Yet, this second quarter of 2021 was 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%
As we can see from these numbers, 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 in 2021, just like Q2 did, with scuba diving certifications up, year over year, in the USA.
Once again, although we got an increase in scuba certifications over 2020, the number of open water 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 decline before the start of the pandemic.
Scuba Diving Certifications in Q4: October to December
Q4 continued to deliver good news, just like Q2 and Q3 did, with scuba diving certifications up, year over year, in the USA.
Here were the year-over-year changes in certifications in the last quarter (October to December) of the year:
- 2021 over 2020: +33.1%
- 2020 over 2019: -31.9%
- 2019 over 2018: +1.9%
- 2018 over 2017: -7.5%
Compared to pre-pandemic level (2019), entry-level scuba diving certifications in Q4 of 2021 were still down 9.3%.
Annual Scuba Diving Certifications In The USA, Nation-Wide
With positive results in the last nine months of the year, 2021 provided a significant rebound (+48.5%) compared to the first year of the pandemic (2020) but remained 13.9% below pre-pandemic levels (2019).
Here are the year-over-year changes in open water certification numbers in the USA:
- 2021 over 2020: +48.5%
- 2020 over 2019: -42.0%
- 2019 over 2018: +0.2%
- 2018 over 2017: -9.3%
Annual Scuba Diving Certifications in The USA, By State
Only three states did better in 2021 than pre-pandemic (2019).
- Idaho: +21,7%
- Utah: +12.2%
- Florida: +3.9%
The three worse-performing states in that regard were:
- North Dakota: -46.2%
- Vermont: -45.3%
- Maine: -34.6%
Although Hawaii didn’t suffer as much as mainland states during the pandemic, they ended 2021 with a drop of 8.6% compared to 2019.
How are the open-water scuba 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 generate 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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