What is the fundamental reason that prevents scuba diving from becoming popular?

[TMHeimer]

For me, the biggest obstacle was that, until very recently, my wife was not interested in diving.

I have wanted to dive since 15+ years ago when I went diving at a resort on the Great Barrier Reef on an island in northern Australia. However, my wife didn't want to do it and I didn't need another time consuming hobby that we didn't share.

Luckily, my wife recently changed her mind and became amenable to diving (mixed with other activities.)

I have seen similar situations with friends. They are interested, but their wives have zero interest, so it doesn't happen. Taking a dive vacation with the guys is politically infeasible.

I don't have any facts or figures, but I'd guess that there is a male/female interest gap in this sport. As long as this persists, it will be an obstacle.

I dunno. I read that there are more female divers than ever as their % of total divers continues to grow. As mentioned, my wife can't dive, but she has no problem with me diving-- once weekly May-Oct., bi-weekly the other months. She had no problem with me taking a week in Panama to dive and would have no problem with other trips like that alone. Now, if they didn't cost so much....

 

[jonhall]

It is obvious that one fundamental reason can't be determined as proved by the responses in this thread. How do you market to or reach the masses of people who: are afraid of water creatures, lack swimming skills, are landlocked, think it too expensive, don't have time, find it easier to participate in other activities, think it's a hassle, aren't able to travel to dive locations, have partners not interested in diving, and/or don't have dive shops nearby? Impossible! If a marketing person could address all of those concerns in one fell swoop, that really would be genius!!

Whatever the reasons, they apply both to those who don't get into diving and those that have been diving.

These are some more recent numbers of divers:
* There are between 2.7 - 3.5 million active scuba divers (2,715,000 in 2019) in the U.S. with as many as 6 million worldwide. (DEMA)
** In 2020, there were 2.59M scuba diving participants in the USA, most of which were Casual (1.88M). Only about 708K scuba diving Americans, in 2020, dove more than seven times during the year. It’s a small industry! (SFIA)
Although the overall number of divers (popularity?) is decreasing, it is more so among "Casual divers" (1 to 7 dives a year), as there is a slight increase among "Core divers" (8+ dives a year) according to the SFIA article shared earlier in the thread. I linked it below also.

**Posted earlier by @Cert1967 :
Scuba Diving Participation Rate & Statistics 2021

*The DEMA Fun Facts page has some interesting numbers about the diver profile (also used in the SFIA report):
https://www.dema.org/store/download.aspx?id=7811B097-8882-4707-A160-F999B49614B6

* ~66% completed college or grad school and ~62% have a decent job

* ~69% have a household income between $100,000 - $150,000 (expense was a common reason mentioned)

* ~79% are married

* 99% own their home

* The mean age is ~30 for OW level and 35 for those who continued dive education
* interesting is that the mean age for the traveling diver (don't know where to) is almost 54

* More males (60-70%) dive than females

* The top diving states are coastal states, with CA and FL leading the way by percentage (makes sense)

* Divers participate in a whole slew of other activities outside of diving (it has been mentioned that some other
activities are less of a hassle, cheaper, etc..)

It seems there is a progression not just to fitting into this diver profile but into being able to take up diving no matter who you are. You get educated, make money, get married and settle down, and when you're old enough you can dive and travel. Along the way stay active in other activities, so when you don't dive anymore, you have something else to do. Curious how many SB members fit this profile and are casual vs core divers? I didn't fit the profile in household income when I took OW at age 43, but did at age 50 when I really started diving.

 

[tursiops]

* The top diving states are coastal states, with CA and FL leading the way by percentage (makes sense)

I don't know if it is still true, but for a long time Colorado was the #1 state for PADI certifications per capita.

 

[ssssnake529]

This is an interesting article on scuba diver demographics.

Scuba Diver Socio-Demographic Profile 2021

 

[boulderjohn]

I don't know if it is still true, but for a long time Colorado was the #1 state for PADI certifications per capita.

We have always been told Colorado is annually among the top 3 per capita. All our true local diving sucks by almost anyone's standards.

 

[WeRtheOcean]

Personally, I'm not so sure the expense is the main limiting factor to scuba uptake. You can buy a top of the line reg set, BCD, wetsuit, mask and fins for the cost of an entry level full suspension mountain bike.

Perhaps perceived cost, then. Most non-divers see all the fancy equipment, have no idea what it is, or even what you actually need, but it sure does look expensive. Whereas the mountain bike and its associated safety equipment are at least comprehensible to someone outside the hobby.

 

[David Wilson]

"Back in the day", quite a common way into scuba diving at a later stage was being given a "swimmer's set" comprising fins, mask and snorkel as a youngster. Many 1950s and early-1960s public swimming pools, at least here in the UK, were full of happy children swimming about in snorkelling gear. The result was a younger generation with water confidence. I only learned to swim after my parents bought me a pair of fins as a birthday present; those fins were key to my transition from non-swimmer to swimmer after years of failure in swimming lessons without them. Then Health and Safety legislation came along, resulting in a snorkelling gear ban in public pools so young people never learned how to snorkel safely with lifeguards present.

 

[Belzelbub]

Asking why diving isn’t popular on a site populated by divers is kind of funny. I can only guess, and hypothesize on why, as it obviously wasn’t an issue for me.

I grew up not far from beaches, and never very far from a pool. I vaguely remember my parents putting a pool in our backyard. Before that, I already knew how to swim. Started with water exposure as a toddler, then swimming lessons as early as possible. I was constantly using a snorkel set every time we went to the beach. When I was a little older, we went to Key Largo and snorkeled on Pennecamp. That was it for me. I wanted to spend more time in the water, and got certified the next summer.

In my case, the cost of getting certified wasn’t a deterrent, as my parents paid for it as a birthday gift. But, then I had a problem. No gear, and limited funds, as I was only 15.

Several years later, I got certified again, and my parents bought me a set of gear as a graduation present. It was a relatively basic set, but at least allowed me to dive a bit in N FL springs. I dove off and on for a bit, but didn’t really dive regularly until I could really afford it.

My daughters are both certified, but my wife is not. She has no desire to learn. Unlike the rest of us, she didn’t learn how to swim until she was in her 30s, so is not quite as comfortable in the water. So, for her, it’s a fear thing. Cost isn’t really a factor, nor is time. She’s usually out on the boat with us.

Other non-divers I’ve talked to have indicated it’s fear, even if they don’t actually admit it. Fear and commitment required are likely the biggest reasons why it’s not more popular.

But, honestly, I’m OK with the level of popularity. I’d rather it be something that not everyone does. As long as there are enough people to support manufacturer’s interest, I’m OK. I see plenty of dive shops in my area, and most have been there a while. Some have changed ownership and/or names over the years, so it seems the area is able to support them. Several new ones have popped up as well.

But, I live in FL and it’s a very short drive to the boat ramp.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I bet the DEMA stats that @jonhall posted above are similar to stats for skiing. I suspect most skiers don't live within driving distance of ski resorts, are older and well off financially. I gave up skiing when I moved to the South and replaced it with more diving, though where I lived in California I was within driving distance of diving AND skiing. Is the skiing community asking what is preventing skiing from becoming more popular?

 

[boulderjohn]

"Back in the day", quite a common way into scuba diving at a later stage was being given a "swimmer's set" comprising fins, mask and snorkel as a youngster. Many 1950s and early-1960s public swimming pools, at least here in the UK, were full of happy children swimming about in snorkelling gear. The result was a younger generation with water confidence. I only learned to swim after my parents bought me a pair of fins as a birthday present; those fins were key to my transition from non-swimmer to swimmer after years of failure in swimming lessons without them. Then Health and Safety legislation came along, resulting in a snorkelling gear ban in public pools so young people never learned how to snorkel safely with lifeguards present.

I currently have three grandchildren who went through the learning to swim process, and it was the same for all three. All of them were struggling in their earliest lessons, primarily because they were afraid to put their faces in the water. All three had a single session with me in the kiddy area of the public pool, where mask and snorkels were allowed. There was no magic to it. I had bought a kid snorkel set and put it on them. All three took to it immediately and loved it. All three were ready to go at their next swim lesson and progressed rapidly.