Your Dive Industry Compass: Scuba Diving Market Research, Surveys, Reports & Statistics

Your Scuba Diving Industry Compass

Dive Industry Surveys, Scuba Diving Market Research, Reports & Statistics

We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails – if we know in which direction the wind is blowing!

“Your Dive Industry Compass” section of this website serves as a vital resource for scuba diving industry professionals seeking market research, surveys, reports, and statistics to inform strategic business decisions.

We acknowledge the general lack of reliable scuba diving market data and compile resources designed to help dive businesses and instructors adjust their “sails” by knowing the direction the “wind is blowing”.

Key content includes extensive Dive Industry MARKET REPORTS estimating the SIZE OF THE Scuba Diving MARKET, analyzing ANNUAL SPENDING by Scuba Divers on equipment, training, and tourism, and detailing statistics on Participation Rate and the critical Scuba Divers’ Dropout Rate.

Crucially for dive business owners and instructors, we offer Benchmarking data, including revenues and profits for Local Dive Shops, and surveys on the Economics of Being a Dive Instructor, covering remuneration and financial expectations.

Furthermore, we provide deep dives into QUALITY & SAFETY in Scuba Diving through results evaluating the quality of Entry-Level Open-Water Certification Courses, assessing whether Dive Centers & Instructors are Equipped to provide quality experiences, and tracking the Net Promoter Score (NPS) of Dive Training Agencies.

We encourage dive professionals to participate in ongoing surveys, which benefit the entire industry and contribute to a deeper understanding of our market and its consumers.

A very special and big “Thank You” to DAN Europe, Shearwater, and GUE for supporting our market research efforts in collaboration with InDEPTH magazine.

Please let us know if you want to add your name to the list of organizations supporting dive businesses and dive professionals.

1) ONGOING Scuba Diving Industry Market Research & Surveys

You can help by participating in the ongoing surveys listed below. It will benefit the whole industry. Subscribe to be notified when results become available.

Your participation in these surveys will contribute to a better understanding of the dive industry to the benefit of all dive professionals.

Dive Training Agencies: Net Promoter Score 2025-2026

(2025-2026) OPEN TO ALL SCUBA DIVERS. How likely are you to recommend that dive training agency to a friend or colleague? How valuable is the dive training agency brand, really?

We run this study annually. Check the 2025 results.

Snack, Rituals & Lucky Gear

(2025) OPEN TO ALL SCUBA DIVERS. This light-hearted survey dives into the fun side of our community: superstitions, habits, and lucky gear! By sharing your input, you’ll help us capture and better understand the unique culture that shapes the scuba diving world.

2) Market Reports & Statistics From COMPLETED Scuba Diving Industry Studies, Research & Surveys

We are doing our part to compensate for a general lack of reliable market data in the scuba diving industry.

2.1) Survey Results on QUALITY & SAFETY in Scuba Diving

Survey Results: Rescue & First Aid Skills for Scuba Diving Emergencies. How prepared are dive professionals and scuba divers to handle scuba diving emergencies? How frequently do they refresh their skills? Recreational & tech diving.
Survey Results: Underwater Navigation. Have you been lost underwater while scuba diving? How do you navigate while diving? What types of compass do you use?
Survey Results: Evaluating the Quality of Entry-Level Open-Water Certification Courses. How would you rate the quality of your Open Water Diver course? Are open-water divers ready to dive? Evaluating entry-level scuba diving experiences to help the dive industry improve. What is missing in the open-water diver course? Is it better to learn scuba diving at home or on vacation? Is deep diving an essential skill?
Survey Results: Are Dive Centers & Instructors Equipped to Provide a Quality Experience to Scuba Divers? Dive Industry Business Model & Practices. We are on a mission to improve the quality of the experience provided to scuba divers while upgrading the working conditions of dive professionals.
Survey Results: Close Calls While Scuba Diving. The goal of this survey was to better understand how often scuba divers encounter “close calls” while scuba diving and how we could learn from sharing these incidents.
Survey Results: Am I a Bad Apple? Do I cut corners? A self-assessment and introspection by scuba diving instructors about their behavior on the quality and safety fronts.
Survey Results: Panicking & Scuba Diving. A survey on the causes and remedies of diver panic in collaboration with Dr. Laura Walton.
Survey Results: Sexual Harassment in the Scuba Diving Industry. This survey was about sexual harassment targeting adult men and women in the dive industry.
Survey Results: Net Promoter Score (NPS) of Dive Training Agencies – 2025 Report. How likely are you to recommend that dive training agency to a friend or colleague? How trustworthy is the dive training agency brand? Please participate in this year’s edition of the survey.
Survey Results: Sustainable Tourism & Scuba Diving. The goal of this survey was to gain a deeper understanding of scuba divers’ relationship with the environment and their commitment to sustainable tourism, in collaboration with Dr. Alex Brylske.

2.2) Dive Industry MARKET REPORTS, Survey Results & Business Statistics

Dive Industry Market Report on THE SIZE OF THE Scuba Diving MARKET. What is the size of the dive industry? There are no definitive answers to this question because the scuba diving industry suffers from a serious lack of reliable market data. However, we compiled and analyzed various data sources to estimate the market size of dive training, scuba diving equipment, and dive travel.
Survey Results: ANNUAL SPENDING by Scuba Divers on Dive Equipment, Training & Tourism. How Much Scuba Divers Spend Annually on Dive Gear, Travel, Training & Services? We all enjoy a dive with 100 ft/30 m visibility, don’t we? It would also be delightful for dive professionals to have a better understanding of the size of the dive industry. And it is the objective pursued by this worldwide “Market Viz Project” (MVP) for dive gear, training & travel.
Results From a Random Survey of The U.S. Population About Scuba, Snorkeling & Tankless Diving. The Business of Diving Institute’s exclusive industry survey on awareness, intent to participate, participation rate, satisfaction, and the dropout rate for scuba diving, snorkeling, and surface-supplied air (tankless) diving.
Water Sport Market Report: PARTICIPATION RATE & Statistics About Scuba Diving, Snorkeling & Related Water Sports. Scuba diving participation rate compared to snorkeling, swimming, surfing, and stand-up paddling.
Scuba Diving Market Report: Scuba Diver SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC Profile. Marketing segmentation of recreational scuba divers. The dive industry participants are not homogeneous.
Snorkeling Market Report: SNORKELING Participation Rate & Socio-Demographic Profile of a Snorkeler. Who are the snorkelers? How do they differ from scuba divers?
Scuba Diving Market Report: Number of Open Water Scuba Diving CERTIFICATIONS in The USA. How many new entry-level open water divers are certified annually in the USA?
The State of the Dive Industry (SOTI): Scuba Diving Market TRENDS on Sales of Dive EQUIPMENT, Scuba CERTIFICATIONS & Dive TRAVEL Worldwide & By Regions
Market Analysis: Scuba Divers’ Dropout Rate. What is the dropout rate among scuba divers? What are the causes and solutions to the high dropout level in the scuba diving industry?

2.3) BENCHMARKING: Market Studies & Survey Reports

The “Economics” of Being a Dive Instructor: Job Remuneration– 2025 Edition. Is it possible to make a living as a recreational or tech diving instructor? What to expect financially. Hourly rates. How much do dive instructors invest in dive gear & scuba training? Differences in dive professionals’ income, based on factors such as instructor’s gender, location, training agency affiliation, experience, age & more.
Benchmarking Local Dive Shops: Business Profile of Dive Centers in Europe & USA
Benchmarking Scuba Diving Instructors: Business Profile of Dive Instructors in Europe & USA
Benchmarking Dive Resorts: Business Profile of Dive Resorts
Benchmarking Certs: Average Number of Dive Certifications by Dive Centers & Independent Instructors in Europe & USA by Category

2.4) Additional Survey Results & Market Reports on DISTINCT Scuba Diving SECTORS of Activities

Survey Results: Rebreather Training & Courses. Should rebreather diving training really be unit-specific?
Survey Results: The Future of Rebreathers vs. Open-Circuit Scuba Diving. Rebreather divers & non-rebreather divers contributed to a better understanding of the potential & limitations of diving with rebreathers ahead of Rebreather Forum 4 in Malta in 2023.
Survey Results: Diver Propulsion Vehicles (DPVs) also known as Underwater Scooters. Do you regularly use a DPV while scuba diving? Have you ever? Why? Why not? What improvements would you like to see in DPVs?
Survey Results: Sidemount Diving. This survey helped us understand how prevalent sidemount diving has become (or not) and who are the divers using a sidemount configuration.
Survey Results: Dive Computers. The goal of this survey was to better understand how scuba divers use dive computers, what features are most important, what they are looking for in a dive computer, and how they plan their dives. This dive industry market report differentiated between tech divers and recreational divers.

2.5) DISCUSSIONS Related to Scuba Diving Market Reports: HOW-TO

Scuba Diving Industry Market Statistics: Sources of Data & Lack of Data. DEMA, SFIA, OIA, Training Agencies, Dive Gear Manufacturers, Dive Center Business, Business of Diving Institute, InDEPTH & more.
Challenges & Limitations in Measuring the Market Size of the Scuba Diving Industry. Measuring the size of each one of the six sectors part of the overall dive industry comes with its own set of unique challenges.
How To Accurately Measure The Market Size of The Scuba Diving Industry. If we want a truly accurate picture of the dive industry, we need to conduct surveys directly with end-users.
Warning: Fake Scuba Diving Industry Statistics and Market Research. Be wary of rosy dive industry market data reports.

Thank You!

The following scuba diving industry leaders support our efforts to provide more insights into the dive industry in collaboration with InDEPTH Magazine.

Shearwater Research designs and manufactures computers for all types of divers: air, nitrox, multi-gas trimix, rebreather diving.

GUE is a leader in scuba education, having developed many industry-first training protocols and utilizing an elite cast of diving educators.

DAN Europe assists & protects divers, and conducts scientific research to make diving a safer, more accessible, and sustainable activity for all.

Do you want to help?

Please let us know if you would like to add your name to the list of organizations supporting a better understanding of the dive industry for the benefit of all dive professionals.

Other Dive Industry Resources

More scuba diving industry surveys, studies & reports are in the works. Subscribe to be kept in the loop!