Scuba Diving Instructors Market Trends: 2024 Forecast and 2023 Sales & Profits

Scuba Diving Instructors Market Trends: 2024 Forecast and 2023 Revenues & Profits

This 2024 dive industry market report is part of a series of eight scuba diving industry market reports from the annual State of the Dive Industry survey.

Considering the extraordinary amount of time this scuba market study requires (both from us and from dive industry professionals answering the survey), we have opted to conduct this study every 2 years instead of annually. Subscribe to be kept in the loop.

This post is part of our Dive Industry Compass series by the Business of Diving Institute and Darcy Kieran, author of:

In early 2024, the Business of Diving Institute conducted the second annual State Of The Industry (SOTI) survey of the dive industry in collaboration with InDEPTH Magazine. We examined the 2023 results for dive certifications, scuba diving equipment sales, and dive travel, comparing them to the prior year. We also surveyed expectations and forecasts for 2024.

We extend a special thank you to all of you who participated in this effort to provide the dive industry with more readily available market data.

You can find a complete list of 8 market reports from the State of the Dive Industry study here.

Among independent dive instructors who answered the survey,

21% worked full-time in the dive industry
28% worked part-time in the dive industry
43% were involved only occasionally
8% were only involved as volunteers (no remuneration)

You may consult the number of respondents per dive business category and geographic region here.

Unfortunately, we can only provide statistics on independent scuba diving instructors in the USA and Western Europe, as we did not receive sufficient participation in other geographical regions to provide statistically valid results. We are working on fixing this issue for the 2025 survey – with your help!

Participating in our surveys and inviting your colleagues to do the same can help us provide you with better dive industry market reports.

For additional market data on scuba diving instructors, you may consult:

Independent Dive Instructors’ REVENUES

For scuba diving instructors in the USA, 2023 results fell short of expectations.

40% of independent dive instructors in the USA reported a revenue decrease in 2023, while only 13% had forecasted a decline.

In contrast, Western Europe experienced the opposite.

69% of independent scuba diving instructors in Western Europe reported a revenue increase in 2023, while 56% had forecasted an increase.

That being said, dive instructors experienced a wide range of sales results.

31% of dive instructors in the USA reported sales growth, while 40% had a decrease in revenues.
69% of dive centers in Western Europe experienced growth, while 23% had a decline in revenues.

In both regions, despite the many challenges of 2024, reporting dive instructors are very optimistic about the future.

52% of American scuba diving instructors expect revenue growth in 2024.
69% of Western European dive instructors expect revenue growth in 2024.

Independent Dive Instructors’ PROFITS

Independent scuba diving instructors have the ability to control their costs when facing a decline in revenues.

While 40% of dive instructors in the USA experienced a decline in revenues in 2023, only 21% reported a decrease in profits.
While 23% of dive instructors in Western Europe saw revenue declines in 2023, only 15% reported decreased profits.

The percentages in the graphs below indicate the number of survey respondents who reported or forecasted a decrease, flat, or increase in revenues or profits.

The green columns represent the actual results (2022 & 2023), while the orange-brown columns represent the forecasts (2023 & 2024). Both columns for 2023 are wrapped by a black dotted line to facilitate comparisons between projections and actual results.