Post-pandemic comeback? Not yet! The dive industry is still crashing.

[Darcy Kieran]

Not unless someone gets the bright idea to recast and modernize Sea Hunt like they did Hawaii Five-O

That'd be fun!!!

That being said, I am not sure that the visibility of scuba diving is such an issue. Every time we discuss the fact that scuba diving participation is shrinking, we blame the lack of Cousteau or Sea Hunt on TV.

Yet, there are plenty of outdoor activities booming without that type of coverage. "Prime Time TV" doesn't have as much power as it used to.

Besides, I see scuba diving everywhere. Almost every time I see an ad for a honeymoon trip, there's scuba diving and snorkeling in it for some reason. It's pretty visible in tourist destinations. It's in movies. It's being seen. And Avatar 2 just came out...

One step in marketing a product/service is raising awareness of its existence. A Business of Diving Institute survey in 2021 showed that 96.4% of adult Americans of all ages knew what scuba diving is. It's not a mystery.

Of course, more visibility & a few scuba diving heroes would be fantastic! But blaming it on a lack of Cousteau & Sea Hunt sounds to me a bit like we are putting our heads in the sand. It's up to us to figure out what today's consumers want and change our products/services to suit them. People will not change to fit in our 1980 business model. And the fast-food/cheap quality training we've been churning since then doesn't work, so let's stop doubling down on it!

And... Happy Holidays!

 

[brsnow]

Through meta and other experiences you will be able to dive without getting wet. Will be interesting to see what things look like in 10 years.

 

[boulderjohn]

So instead of endlessly listing reasons why it is like that and why it has been like that for decades (while we simultaneously have seen the industry slowly shrinking over the same period of time), I prefer to think of solutions... There is a need. We don't have a solution yet. But somebody will develop one, implement it, and benefit from it.

I guess that what I am missing is a hint to your solution.

 

[Darcy Kieran]

I guess that what I am missing is a hint to your solution.

I'm working on it! There are hints in the numerous Scubanomics articles I wrote. But for now... I need to "start" Christmas shopping! :O

 

[drrich2]

The problem remains that there is no industry-wide brand that a dive consumer (especially a new one) can trust.

I question whether new people in a position to potentially consider scuba diving are at a place where they know enough to question the trustworthiness of PADI, SSI, etc... I imagine by the time most divers (who ever do) start asking questions about the thoroughness of training, how PADI compares to NAUI or GUI, etc..., that they've already got an OW cert.

There is a need.

This is a powerful bit that's easy to overlook, with a profound metaphorical meaning found in a related question:

Who has that need?

The dive industry that wants to sell class, dive gear, dive trips and so on?

Recreational divers, who want a steady flow of 'new blood' into the hobby to keep dive industry businesses healthy to they continue to provide products and services the divers want?

Yes to both of those, but I suspect a marketer (which I am not) would point out there's a 3rd question key to approaching the problem:

Who in the general public needs to dive?

Need is broadly defined - has a hunger for, a yearning to do, a desire for enrichment this is the optimal way to meet, etc...

Is there a large population of people who ought to be diving, who have some need (e.g.: personal fulfillment, recreational, a justification to travel and see the world, connect with nature, etc...) scuba is the best answer to? People for whom other potential solutions to their problem are inferior to scuba?

Is recreational scuba in decline because potential customers are ignorant and need to be reached, or because they have better solutions to their 'problem?'

Knowing who needs to dive is key to figuring out how to reach them.

 

[Marie13]

PADI still has a huge name recognition. I know plenty of divers who’ve I’ve met through non-diving activities and places virtually all identify themselves as a “PADI diver” or say “I have my PADI.” I identify myself as a cave/Great Lakes wreck/CCR diver. I rarely hear “I’m a recreational ocean diver” or something along those lines.

 

[quietlife4me]

Given I’m new (OW cert dives scheduled in two weeks in FL)….

Here is how my journey to scuba went and where the decisions occurred. I can’t imagine I’m that special even if my mom kept saying I was.

Start…

Scuba diving YouTube videos show up in my suggested feed. I have no idea why. But I clicked on a couple.

I see that I can “get into scuba” fairly cheaply compared to my other hobbies so I start researching PADI…cause PADI is the only training company (at this point I didn’t know I was wrong…it’s just a brand I’ve always known)

After a couple of weeks I’m falling down a rabbit hole on YouTube binging “Diver’s Ready” and “Simply Scuba” (particularly #AskMark).

At this point Im convinced this would be cool so I’m using Google Maps for “scuba” to see who’s around me in driving distance. And I do some website research on the various places around me.

I visit my nearest dive shop during its website posted business hours. It’s difficult to find in the back of an industrial park area. A ragged piece of paper on the door says “by appointment” only and I can see in the window their shop is smaller than my office cube. I strike them off the list for having no “customer service” or business sense. If this was my only local dive shop my hobby would have ended here and I would have decided scuba was “legacy”.

But, I have two other dive shop options, both equal distance. One has an onsite pool and the other uses a local high school. So I opt for the one with the onsite pool.

I show up 1 hour before closing on a Friday…the owner (I didn’t know it at the time) is in the shop by himself and answers every questions I put to him in a friendly, “I don’t mind newbs” attitude. It’s now nearly closing time and I say “sign me up with PADI”.

He asks if my heart is dead set on PADI or not…I say that’s the only one I know…he explains the difference between several agencies and with no hard sell…I go with SSI.

It’s now past closing and he asks if I want to pick out my basic gear. I offer to come back to do that since it’s after closing. He waves it off and he spends another hour explaining gear choices, sizing, try ons and then the sale.

I take the OW class and pool work the following Saturday with one of his instructors. I’m the only student because the other 2 no show…but they run the class anyway. The owner checks on both of us multiple times over the two days and particularly me, making sure I’m happy with the class and the facilities. By now it’s late October and all the OW dive places are closed for the season.

I ask if he can personally recommend a dive shop in Key Largo or abouts so I can do my OW dives during winter…he can not.

…THIS…is where the industry has missed an opportunity for me as a new diver. I had to pick an OW dive ship from 1,000 miles away in a place with 842 options.

My only real option then was to come here and do searches for who this community recommends in Key Largo. Of the several mentioned only one is SSI. I do some website and YouTube research and they look reputable so I send them an email.

Within 24hrs they respond back with enthusiasm and ask me to call if I want to schedule. I call the next day and talk to a very bubbly person who remembers my email. She spends 30min on the phone with me just chit chatting and answering my questions and getting me scheduled. Even though I have my own full set of gear I offer to dive their rentals if they prefer since they don’t know me from Adam. She highly encourages I bring whatever gear I have and dive with that.

So now I anxiously wait.

If you are a dive operator or LDS your customers want…(or at least I do)
- an updated website…last blog post from 2011? Schedule hasn’t updated since 2020? Your business hours wrong?…show you care just a little bit
- answer your damn phone/email within 24 hours….show you care a little bit
- spend the time with the newb…show you care a little bit

Suggestion for Dive Operators…
- find out the LDS your new customer frequents
- reach out to that LDS and see if you can send them free material / posters / adverts
- reach out to that LDS and offer a free dive at your facility/boat for them and their instructors next time they are in the area…the goal being that they will refer to you

 

[johndiver999]

I generally don’t ask. Don’t know and don’t care what certification agency nor certification level a diver has. I have seen so many disappointments that span the certification levels and also the agencies, that I just don’t even consider asking. Dove for 5 years with a guy, to depths well past recreational (on his boat) and then one day he asks me where he could get a certification for an upcoming tourist dive vacation.

 

[brsnow]

PADI still has a huge name recognition. I know plenty of divers who’ve I’ve met through non-diving activities and places virtually all identify themselves as a “PADI diver” or say “I have my PADI.” I identify myself as a cave/Great Lakes wreck/CCR diver. I rarely hear “I’m a recreational ocean diver” or something along those lines.

Do people actually provide identifiers? Is I dive or am a diver doesn’t cut it?

 

[Marie13]

Do people actually provide identifiers? Is I dive or am a diver doesn’t cut it?

I’ve lost count of the times someone has told me they’re a “PADI diver.” I’ve started saying I’m NOT a PADI diver just to screw with them. Ice diving is my only PADI cert. All my recreational stuff is SDI and TDI for tech.