Non-Scientific SCUBA Study

[offthewall1]

The future of diving in the United States

Here were the parameters of the study. I asked 50 people I knew, but who I also knew were not themselves divers the questions. I also made sure to choose all 50 people between the ages of 18 - 40 and who I knew had the financial means to pursue the activity if they desired. They were all middle or middle-upper class and all from the Baltimore-Washington Metro area (one of the strongest areas in the country.) Given that females represent a smaller number of divers as a whole, I chose 15 women and 35 men. Iasked them all the following questions and the results tell me all I need to know about the future of diving.

1. Have you ever considered Learning to SCUBA Dive?
No - 44
Yes - 6

2a. If no, why not?
Too Expensive - 18
Just not interested - 10
Don't Have Time - 10
Medical Issues - 6

2b. If yes, why haven't you done it?
Too Expensive - 4
Don't Have Time - 1
Medical Issues - 1

3. Have you investigated getting certified, i.e. visited a dive shop?
No - 43
Yes - 7

4. If you did, what about the inquiry failed to sway you to sign up for a class?
Arrogance of shop owner / employee - 2
Couldn't answer my questions - 2
Felt Rushed into decision - 3

Last Question.. asked to all 50

5. If I told you - You can learn to dive for FREE without setting foot in a dive shop - would you take me up on it?
No - 42
Yes - 8

The last question told me the most. You can't even give diving away for free. With unofficial follow-up questions, here are the reasons why -

1. Even if I get certified, where would I dive?
2. I still can't afford to travel
3. Cant get enough time off work
4. Just don't have an interest
5. The gear is too expensive
6. I don't know anyone I'd go with
7. I have ear troubles

You see, even if it is free, people have excuses. An increase in interest from 6 to just 8 when offered totally free to 50 people???

The industry is dying a slow and painful death... and here is why...

It has a little to do with the economy - but not much. It has a lot to do with a down-ward trend in physical activity and the Wii generation. It has mostly to do with complete mismanagement of it by DEMA, it's members and the biggest manufacturers who continue to fail the customer. It has to do with years of failed MAP and MARP policy and protectionism (of poor business/ hobbyist dive shop owners.)

Let us look at ways to fix it

1. A really cool dive show on cable channels that educates people about the underwater world. Every week going to historical wrecks or chasing elusive animals and featuring dive staffs from around the globe... maybe even dive vacationers who happen to be on site when filming is going on.
2. Go after the manufacturers and dive shops for price fixing and collusion and refuse to buy brands and from shops that participate in these policies.
3. Find a local dive Instructor who will do "Try Scuba" dives with your friends and family for free - knowing that if they get them hooked - you'll take the classes with them. There are tons of Independent Instructors and even some dive shops that offer FREE trials. It's one thing to tell your friends about it - it's a whole different thing to make a day of doing it.
4. LDS's should work together and plan events regionally instead of fighting each other tooth and nail. It shows as a huge industry negative and turns a lot of people away from diving when they're out looking for a place to take scuba - and shop A & B are both bad mouthing each other.
5. Manufacturers must lower pricing to dealers to allow more reasonable margins. Stop the gouging. We all know a wetsuit can be made for $10 so stop charging the retailer $100 for it and expecting them to charge $180. A $10 wetsuit with a 300% mark-up should cost the retailer $40 and the consumer $68. Current price structure is destroying the industry

The three things we need to improve on are:
1. Making it more affordable - the manufacturers MUST do this
2. Making it more convenient - some training agencies have taken care of this one
3. Making it more appealing - DEMA must promote not with words - but with a real-life TV series that is innovative and cool.

Who out there has what it takes to fix it? Is it you?

 

[muddiver]

Errors with your study:

1. You jumped to the conclusion that the scuba industry is diying based on you biased view of you environment.

2. If I did a pole of migrant workers in Navada and asked them the same questions I am sure I could get a skew of data that is even more supportive of your conclusion that no one wants to learn to scuba dive.

 

[offthewall1]

Errors with your study:

1. You jumped to the conclusion that the scuba industry is diying based on you biased view of you environment.

2. If I did a pole of migrant workers in Navada and asked them the same questions I am sure I could get a skew of data that is even more supportive of your conclusion that no one wants to learn to scuba dive.

I haven't jumped to any conclusion...

I do however state the obvious... My study just reinforces the facts.

Check out DEMA, Dive Industry News and other industry sources. They all say the same basic things... more shops are closing than opening, certification numbers are down etc...

I do agree - your migrant workers would have come to the same conclusion - however that is why I didn't ask migrant workers - I asked Americans with the means.

 

[Peter Guy]

Yes it is an unscientific study but I'm not at all sure the OP isn't on the right track. It appears not just to be Scuba that is slowing down in growth, but other activities also -- skiing/snow boarding come to mind. And what do they have in common? The both need special equipment, need to travel to do it, need training (and perhaps quite a bit) to do it (right!), set in "alien" environments and are physical activities.

I definitely agree with the OP that LDSs need to work cooperatively where they can to market Scuba on a local basis.

I expect there will be an uptick in interest as a result of Sanctum next month -- at least if it doesn't scare the people away!

Actually, perhaps LDSs should do some tie-ins with local theatres to let people know YOU TOO can learn to dive and get the thrills of Scuba!

 

[offthewall1]

Sanctum looks like a cool movie and I look forward to seeing it... but -

The previews give me pause - as I think it will do more harm for the industry than good. It already has the look for a movie called "The Cave" from a couple of years ago..

I say with great conviction that Technical Divers are not the best face for Recreational Scuba... not so much a knock on them... but clearly for the simple reason they tend to push the limits, get too technical and in their own special way take the "fun" out of diving for the average joe diver who just wants to enjoy themselves without a bunch of mumbo-jumbo.

Lets hope I'm wrong about Sanctum... but the previews don't look that appealing to anyone outside of diving.

 

[knowone]

Sanctum will do for diving what Jaws did for sharks and the beach.

Find another fifty people you "know" and tell everyone that becoming a diver requires a prior interest in the underwater world, that to learn diving is hard, dangerous, and requires more than a fleeting commitment, and compulsory assisted training by the competent, but that breathing extra oxygenated air in salt water under pressure contributes to longevity and increased fitness leading to pound shedding, and proven hair regrowth like on TV.

 

[scubamarketing]

I'm sorry, but a "study" of 50 people you know just screams against everything I learned in statistical analysis classes in college. "Dying" I think is a bit extreme. I look at my old LDS, their certifications and sales are still up. Four of your seven follow up reasons are financial-related and one is medical. Of your five suggestions to fix things, I agree with 1, 2, 4 and 5. I have done free discover scuba's and know they can be effective marketing, but the concept of dive instructors doing what they've been trained to do for free is the reason some markets have $99 certifications. I'd be more supportive of giving away discover scuba's if the certification was $500. There are plenty of studies supporting the inherent risk in "free" (the biggest being that people don't value things that are free), so charge $15-30 for a discover scuba, you might actually see more people show up.

I would love for more mass-media exposure and I feel there isn't being enough done to create this. Yes, people will argue for Into The Drink, Drop Zone and other shows, but I'm talking about Sea Hunt and Seaquest, network TV SCUBA.

As for dive shops closing, they're closing because they opened in the 70s when SCUBA was really taking off, now those people are 50-60 and haven't modernized a thing and want to retire. I'm seeing all of the bad LDS's in my area struggle and close, but new ones are thriving because they're smart about their marketing.

"The Cave" was a b-grade horror flick, Sanctum is a docudrama produced by one of the biggest names in cinema. I've had a ton of friends who aren't divers and have no interest in diving send me the link to the preview (as if I haven't seen it ) with comments like "amazing!", I think we'll be surprised at the ticket sales it generates. As an instructor, I want everyone to aspire to be a tech diver, they tend to learn more about safety and self reliance, plus I get to teach them more classes.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

I wonder:

Is interest in scuba really dying, or is it the same very small percentage of the population that is interested/active/attracted to scuba? The same percantage as it has always been?

If you asked 50 non-divers in the 1970's, 80's and 90's, would the percentage be about the same?

Shows like Sea Hunt, the James Bond series, Cousteau's series all helped generate interest in diving in the early days... would TV shows and movies do the same now?

Interesting discussion.

Best wishes.

 

[Garrobo]

I would agree that IF the diving population IS getting smaller percentagewise it could be partially caused by the "wussing" of the younger population. If the guys I ran with over the years, both young and grown, lived near an ocean they'd probably be addicted diving buffs. But due to the fact that the vast majority of people in the US don't live in an area near an ocean and with a sub-tropical climate. I will have to qualify that with the fact that I have talked to lots of people in the southern Florida and Upper Key area where I do my diving who have lived there all their lives and have never been interested in diving or that they tried it a few times and weren't all that enthusiastic about it. I would think that the majority of people can't see the initial expenses in starting out, not knowing if they would be able to utilize the equipment sufficiently to justify the cost or to be in an area with decent enough weather often enough to do any diving. So this would include the time and expenses of getting to an area that supports the sport. Lost on a lot of divers is the fact that not everyone digs diving like we do just like everyone doesn't go whole hog about skiing, like myself. Been there, tried that one time and that was enough. Not interested.

 

[offthewall1]

Lost on a lot of divers is the fact that not everyone digs diving like we do just like everyone doesn't go whole hog about skiing, like myself. Been there, tried that one time and that was enough. Not interested.

Have to agree on the skiing LOL... Went twice. The second time I skiid off the side of the mountain on my arse through the trees and ended up with one ski in the trees and the other twisted around me somehow... after having the little kid ski down and say "hey mister your ski's in the tree" and the old man ski by and say "hey sonny, you OK?" I got my ass up, made it to the hot tub and never looked back!

Not everything is for everyone... but then again, I don't really liken skiing to diving. I liken diving more to being an astronaut and going to the moon. Diving is more exploration than sport. In fact, there is only outer space and inner space left to explore. There are no more wild wests or jungle islands with undiscovered head-hunting natives on them.

Virtually anyone can reach "inner space," the ocean floor but very few will ever in their lifetime reach the surface of the moon... and this is what baffles me. Where is the human sense of adventure? Where was the thrill of exploration lost? So few of us have it... even within the diving community.

How many of you hard-core divers actually go to a wreck in the middle of the ocean and then swim out and away from it along the bottom - searching for that lost piece, that golden trinket... leaving the wreck behind you... how many go to the base of a wall and swim out into the sand away from it to see what lies out there? I venture to bet not many.

Diving needs to be sold as Adventure - Exploration... not just diving. It's about going to new worlds, worlds so few will ever see except in a book or a movie... so comparing it to skiing or for that matter anything - except going to outer space really doesn't make much sense.

Diving should challenge the human spirit... it should bring passion into your life.... the first time you swim with wild dolphins, or sharks, or volkswagon sized sea turtles or have a Moray eel slither into your BCD or touch a lobter tentacle like the finger in ET or perhaps find the smallest crab or shrimp among the brain coral etc...

So many children sit in planetariums and stare at stars on school field trips... some go to aquariums... but of the two, which will the child actually be able to reach in his/her lifetime? More emphasis must be put on this...

It simply has not been happening... it's time.