Dive Industry Statistics | Market Data
Scuba Diving Certifications Rebounded in The 2nd Quarter of 2021
Entry-level open water certifications rebounded in the USA in April, May, and June of 2021 but are still below the pre-pandemic level.
Darcy Kieran is the author of the reference book “Scuba Diving Industry Market Size & Statistics.”
Now available: Entry-level scuba diving certification numbers for Q3 & the first 9 months of 2021.
Good News in Q2
For the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, scuba diving certifications were up in the USA, compared to the prior year.
The second quarter of 2020 was the first quarter fully affected by the COVID-19 pandemic that started at the end of the first quarter of 2020. With countries closing their borders to tourism, we faced a drop of 73.3% in Q2 of 2020 over 2019.
This year, 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. Well done!
This second quarter of 2021 is still lower than the pre-pandemic level, with 37 thousand certifications this year compared to 42 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 decline before the start of the pandemic.
Comparing to Q1
In our analysis of entry-level open water scuba certifications in the first quarter of 2021, we reported a continued decline in 2021, following a drop in 2020 at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
The first quarter of 2020 only got a partial impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the virus was in the news at the end of 2019, tourism started to be significantly impacted toward the end of that first quarter when numerous countries shut their doors 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.
Expecting a Mixed 3rd Quarter
We expect mixed results for the third quarter (July, August, September).
While countries started re-opening to tourism in the second quarter of this year and optimism was abound, the arrival of numerous “variants” and the continued resistance to vaccination are putting a damper on our expectations.
Subscribe to be notified when we review certification numbers for the third quarter.
How are the open water certification numbers generated?
The quarterly report on entry-level open water scuba certifications in the USA is 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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