Benchmarking Scuba Diving Instructors: Business Profile of Dive Instructors in Europe & USA
This scuba diving industry market report sheds more light on how dive instructors operate.
This scuba diving industry market report is based on the results of the State of the Dive Industry survey.
This post is part of our Dive Industry Compass series by the Business of Diving Institute and Darcy Kieran, author of:
Contents on This Page
TL;DR Overview
The majority of surveyed instructors work in the dive industry on a non-full-time basis: only 21% reported working full-time, while 28% worked part-time, and 43% were involved only occasionally (with another 8% volunteering without remuneration). These independent professionals typically maintain affiliations with multiple physical dive centers for logistics like student recruitment, rental gear, and fills, averaging interactions with 3.0 dive centers in the USA and 2.4 centers in Western Europe in 2023.
Services offered are heavily focused on entry-level experiences and local diving, with high participation rates in Try Dives (e.g., Discover Scuba Diving) and Day Trips/Dive Excursions, which are offered by over three-quarters of respondents in both regions (USA Day Trips 79%; Western Europe Day Trips 81%).
Differences emerge in how scuba diving instructors handle retail and clientele sources. Western European instructors are significantly more likely to sell dive gear in addition to training materials (35% versus 22% in the USA). They are also more likely to rent or loan their own gear (41% versus 38% in the USA) and own their own day-trip dive boat (9% versus 4% in the USA).
A notable finding is the ability of independent instructors to attract non-local business: 44% of students trained by Western European instructors and 31% of students trained by US instructors come from out of town. This suggests that quality specialized training, such as rebreather or cave diving, plays a role in attracting divers beyond the local service area.
Intro to the Business Profile of Scuba Diving Instructors
As part of the State of the Dive Industry (SOTI) survey, we asked scuba diving instructors to answer a few questions about their teaching methods, tools, and setups.
Among 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 more accurate and comprehensive dive industry market reports.
For additional market data on scuba diving instructors, you may consult:
Dive Shops & Independent Dive Instructors
With how many dive centers do you regularly interact in your activities as an independent instructor (for any reason, such as student recruitment, rental gear & fills)?
The reduction in the average number of dive shops used by dive instructors may be related to the closure of dive centers.
Services Offered by Independent Scuba Diving Instructors
In the results below, the percentage indicates how many respondents answered yes.
Do you offer the following services to your students/clients?
In both markets, in 2023, ‘day trips’ gained importance while ‘dive vacations’ declined. It may be related to a trend we noticed in scuba divers booking dive vacations at the last minute, making it challenging for independent instructors to organize groups.
Scuba Diving Equipment Retailing & Independent Dive Instructors
As an independent dive instructor, do you sell scuba diving gear in addition to training course materials? For instance, a rebreather diving instructor may sell rebreathers.
Dive Boats & Independent Scuba Diving Instructors
Do you also own & operate a day-trip dive boat?
Where do student-divers come from?
What percentage of your dive training students come from out of town (requiring them to stay at least one night near the location where you provide training)?
When discussing independent scuba diving instructors with dive industry colleagues, it is often assumed that these instructors primarily serve a local clientele, typically in the region where they reside.
However, the results from this survey suggest that independent dive instructors attract a significant number of student divers from out of town.
It would require further study, but I assume that quality dive instructors attract scuba divers from out of town, especially in specialized training such as rebreathers and cave diving.
I’m certain quality matters on that front.
Number of Dive Certifications by Types
How many and what types of scuba diving certifications are offered by independent instructors? Which dive training agency is most frequently used?
We addressed these questions in
The Economics of Being a Dive Instructor (Job Remuneration)
Is it possible to make a living as a recreational scuba diving instructor? What to expect financially. Hourly rates. How much was invested in dive gear & scuba training? Differences in dive professionals’ incomes, based on the instructor’s gender, location, training agency affiliation, experience, age, and more.
We addressed these questions in
Video Summary & Thoughts
You may also be interested in:
Have a look at more scuba diving market research, surveys, reports & statistics in Your Dive Industry Compass.
If the information in this post was valuable to you, would you consider buying me a coffee?
Either way, please help the dive industry by taking part in ongoing surveys. Results from our past scuba diving market studies are also available here.
Your Dive Industry Compass
Scuba Diving Market Research, Surveys, Reports & Statistics
Shifting Tides
Strategies for Today’s Scuba Divers
Living The Scuba Dream
Plan Your Scuba Instructor Career & Deep Dive the Plan
You may also be interested in The Immersion Zone (our podcast), Scubanomics (our newsletter for dive professionals), and our published books & reference guides.