The changing Scuba Industry

[george_austin]

My impression is that scuba diving is becoming more popular with the millenials. But only as a check list "done that" item.

But they do not view it as a life long passion, or even a short term hobby. It is all viewed in a 1 week (or less) minimal efforrt horizon.

This means they will do a Discover Scuba Diving encounter or maybe they may max out at getting referral or resort certified. And then do a few dives on an upcoming vacation.

End of story. Been there done that. What's next?

I have no idea how to adapt to this view. I am a member of several clubs who have spent years trying to figure out how to attract younger members since the current members are dying off.

Those people can't be called divers and I'm sure even they would be the first to agree with that. They have breathed off a tank underwater while flopping around but they are as far from being a diver as I am from being a trapeze artist

 

[Wookie]

I now get mad if I have to get a software disc instead of a download. If I need a chart, I need it now, not 3 days from now.

 

[dorsal]

I hope the dive industry is reading this thread as there is tons of insight.

@wookiie I think you nailed it. As a new but "middle age" diver I'm looking forward to diving more. My vacations have already changed from skiing multiple days a year to figuring out how to take the family somewhere we can all have fun in the sun.

I've heard the same comments folks here are saying in other hobbies - flying, skiing, cycling, etc, at least the theme is the same. Today folks have expenses we didn't just 10 years ago with mobile phones and Netflix and whatever. Their free marginal income is pretty thin to spend on other hobbies like scuba. There is excitement there to learn, but I don't think the industry has adapted yet.

 

[KeithG]

Those people can't be called divers and I'm sure even they would be the first to agree with that. They have breathed off a tank underwater while flopping around but they are as far from being a diver as I am from being a trapeze artist

You agree and I agree.

BUT: The world is changing. They may be the highest volume customers of some dive operations? Or at least the new trend?

I would be interested if anyone has any metrics about this.

I had a very brief conversation a week ago at curling (think pushing rocks around on really cold ice) with a millennial about diving. She had several more levels of certification than I (I am just PADI OW) and she was very focused on check list dive locales. Her most recent trip was land based in Saba and she could not name a single dive site. She did claim that the restaurant was a top 10 in the Caribbean. She could not name the restaurant or what she had to eat.

They think different...

 

[KeithG]

Yes, I can see the reasons for some shops closing. With lots of ways of buying equipment, it would seem that one LDS may wind up servicing a larger area while others close. Our shop does well, but hardly any competition within maybe 100 miles. I still usually buy anything I need from them, or 3 shops I frequent while in the U.S.--- Just easier, and I don't buy much anyway.

Yep - shops are closing...

It would be interesting to see a poll of what stuff people buy from their LDS.

On our recent trip to Bonaire we ran into a troglodyte who spouted "support your LDS, where are you going to get air?". I pointed out that my air was right here on the dock in Bonaire, why do I need an LDS?

As vacation divers, in the last 5 years we have purchased 2 sets of booties, 1 BCD and 1 wetsuit (only after a screwup from an online source) from a LDS. We (I) have purchased about 10 times that $ amount via online channels.

My online purchases are based upon 2 different issues:
- my LDS refused to sell me the items (tribolube, hp hose, IP pressure gauge, reg service kits...)
- items my LDS did not stock or I could buy way cheaper (lights, camera stuff,...)

 

[KeithG]

Huh? Most folks I see on dive boats seem way over weight...in The Americas that is!

Clarification is required.

Over weight?

or

Over weighted?

 

[KeithG]

Clarification is required.

Over weight?

or

Over weighted?

Or both....

 

[REVAN]

Virtual diving is also much easier now than ever. When I was young, I needed to wait for a nature show to do something on the marine environment to bring me the underwater world. Now, I can go to youtube and watch a video for just about any dive location I may want to check out. No money, training, travel or getting wet is required unless I want to experience it firsthand.

This could play into the short time diver model. If you can see it all on a computer or smartphone, the act of doing it personally can turn into a checklist item for all but the few who find something to really connect with in the sport.

 

[eelnoraa]

I hate to say this, but Over weight or obese is a real problem in America. We need to eat less and exercise more. And don't blame on disease. The first step of solving an problem is to realized it.

 

[Antmany2k]

I'm not in the industry, but since my kids are "millenials" (currently nearing their 30s) I noticed that they just aren't into owning things. They would rather "do" things. I've seen this with the 20s at work, too. Some of them see "things" as something that takes up space when it isn't being used.

i totally get it and relate to it in a way. but i think there is a balance. i realized that i am never going to do anything great in my life, i won't cure cancer, i won't leave a lasting impression on the earth and i will be forgotten a couple of decades after i die if not sooner so why not experience everything that you can? see that mountain, dive that ocean go to disneyland, at the end of my life i want to look back and say i did that sky dive, i dived in that place not saying i wish i did this or i wish i did that. but then there is the balance - i work an office job its not glamorous i am replaceable but i earn a decent wage, i own a car and i own a house, they aren't fancy but they are practical and cost less than renting which means more money for experiences. point i am trying to make is that owning things is not a bad thing but neither is going out and enjoying what the world has to offer. material things break or need replacing a memory doesn't and as the cheesy company motto hanging on the wall here reminds me every day "memories are the most precious commodity known to man" which is ironic seeing as we sell high end materialistic cars lol. and its better to experience things than just waste all your money in the pub on a Friday night like most of my colleagues but that's their choice
but i love diving and so i am looking at equipment, and at the end of the day every dive is an experience and you see something different so i don't see it as something you can just do once to tick off your bucket list

as for the other points i tend to go for winter sun so i find we are some of the only customers around but they tell us they have had a busy summer and numbers are good.

i also notice that when i tell people i am a scuba diver the first response is wow, but isn't that dangerous? the second response is usually "you will never catch me doing that" - i think there is a lack of understanding and people just assume its dangerous or hard to get into and wouldn't do it, i have taken 3 people to my LDS for a try dive in the pool, they all loved it but said they would never do it in the ocean. other sports like skiing or surfing just seem more accessible.
i did a try dive as a 9 or 10 year old and liked it but it wasn't until 2011 when i was 22 that i did it again and that was only because a mate did a try dive in Egypt and said it might be fun to go to Egypt together and do our open water, we did and i loved it but i didn't seek it out it was just an experience offered to me, i was quite scared to tell you the truth but it turned into a life changing event

my experience of LDS is that they are so expensive and can push you into a sale. i bought a dive computer and a compass for my AOW and was pushed to get it from them because it came with a free £50 compass for that week only. it did but online i could have got both individually for cheaper, i haven't purchased anything from them since.

as for the weight thing - people are saying its a problem in the US well its becoming a problem here in the UK too. i went to Lanzarote 2 years ago after 4 years of not diving (my buddy fell off his motorbike, got hit by a car and had to have his leg reconstructed) we did a refresher, we went out there and we dived and at the end of the 1st dive on the first day i was in a wetsuit that was too tight it was choppy water, i got smashed against the concrete wall where the steps where to get out and i couldn't breathe and i nearly threw up, i got to top of the stairs undid my suit and lay there feeling exhausted and weak and sick. i skipped the second dive and considered never diving again. i then got the next size up wetsuit which was the biggest they had, it was snug but it worked for me and i had some great dives. i decided i wanted to continue diving and i started to lose weight so i can do it, i am still big but diving is the reason i started to sort myself out, it possibly saved my life.

cost - diving is expensive -whether its flights, hotels, rental equipment, buying your own equipment it all adds up and its a lot of money and the more you progress the more expensive it gets. i am getting my own equipment as its cheaper than renting all the time but i still have to pay to go somewhere.

if i knew before i did OW how much it would cost me would i have taken up diving? - NO

if i knew before OW what i would see, how good it feels and the memories it would give me would i have taken it up - YES ABSOLUTELY