A New Diving Season Begins
 by Gene Muchanski, Editor
The Dive Industry Professional

The recreational diving industry has a seasonality curve all its own, unlike other recreations.   Understanding the diving industry’s seasonality curve will help you prepare for peak and off-peak activity levels in the industry.  Basically, a season is a period of time when most of the annual activity occurs within a recreation.  When we add pre-season, post-season, and off-season periods to our “season” we arrive at an annual seasonality curve.  Using the seasonality curve for the diving industry helps us to prepare for the flow of goods and services in the Global Diving Business Network and the flow of diving activity in the Global Diving Community.  It’s a major analytical tool that informs dive industry professionals of the best time to prepare for the annual spending habits of their customers.

I started this month’s Editorial talking about seasons and seasonality curves and the more I wrote, the more I realized we would never keep the September Editorial between 1,300 and 1,500 words. In the diving industry, seasons and seasonality curves are not openly discussed by everyone in the industry nor are they agreed upon by the ones who use them in their planning.  There is a lot to know about our industry’s seasonality curve and what factors influence its numbers.  We decided to write a full-fledged article about Dive Industry Seasonality Curves in this issue and keep this editorial short and to the point.  We hope you will read the entire article and discuss it with your peers.

When we speak about the diving industry’s seasonality curve, we are really talking about the rhythm of diving activity and diving commerce on an annual basis.  For over 40 years now, I have worked in many different sectors of the diving industry and have gained first-hand knowledge and experience about the annual activities of the manufacturing, training, retail, travel, non-profit, media, and the shows & events sectors of the industry.

Recreational Scuba Diving may have started out as a summer seasonal recreation in the early 1950’s but over time it has come to be a year-round global activity.  That means we have divers participating in the recreation in the winters, springs, summers, and falls of many countries all across the globe.  As we see in global diving activity, each season has its own activity levels.  Weather plays an important part in our seasonal dive planning.  Divers who are active on a year-round basis may avoid certain locations during hurricane season, thereby cutting down on the activity level for those affected areas.  There are other factors that must be taken into consideration when looking at seasonal diving activity.  Industry planners have to be knowledgeable about the working schedules and vacation timing of its local population.  Another factor that affects our industry’s seasonal curve is the number of people who have children in school, are attending colleges and universities, or are teachers in an educational institution.  Another important factor is a country’s Holiday schedule.  Holidays have a significant effect on diving activity and sales.  Finally, the planning and production schedules of the equipment manufacturers, training agencies, and travel companies have an overwhelming influence with the diving shows and events circuit and the introduction of new programs, products, and services.

The new, post pandemic definition of the recreational Scuba Diving Season is that it is annual in nature and has many interlinking parts to it. Our new seasonality curve model is based on the business activity of the Global Diving Business Network and the diving activity of the Global Diving Community.  The Diving Business Network produces and sells diving and diving related programs, products, and services to the consuming diving public we call the Global Diving Community.  That means that all economic activity is included in our new business and planning model.  Our new model integrates the economic activity of all the various stakeholder groups in the diving industry.  It is based on the global flow of goods and services on an annual basis within the diving community.  Regional and local dive businesses can use this global model as a template and adjust it for their own local seasonality curve.  That will put the entire diving industry on the same wavelength pertaining to the economic rhythm of the industry.

Our scuba diving industry seasonal curve includes more accurate start dates for the diving equipment manufacturers and their sales agents, the diving training agencies and their reps, and the dive travel businesses including dive resorts, liveaboards, and their dive operators.  On an international level, we are also including the providers of diving-related products and services that we include in the Lifestyles product category.  We classify this entire group as providers and sellers, or more commonly referred to as our supply chain.

The larger diving equipment manufacturers historically introduce their new products the day after Labor Day.  They normally hold their sales meetings in August and outfit their Regional Sales Managers with their samples for the next season.  As soon as Labor Day is over, the dive equipment sales reps are on the road visiting their dealers, demonstrating new products, and taking orders.  Sometimes, for immediate delivery.  Engaging in a September 1 Launch has its merits.  Retail Dive Centers are winding down the summer season but are still active, they should be flush with cash, their inventory levels should be down for the year, and their open-to-buy budget should be significant.   The advantage to the retailers is they are able to bring in the next-season products to have on hand for the Christmas Holiday and it gives them the opportunity of selling off last year’s inventory with a Fall Clearance Sale.  This increases store traffic at the end of the summer season, clears out old inventory, and restocks new products for the upcoming Holiday Shopping Season.  Dive Centers that have not participated in a September Launch before have lost important holiday sales to their competitors.  One of the most significant errors in the timing of past New Season Launches for the diving industry is that Dive Retailers have lost out on the significance of the Christmas / Holiday Shopping Season.  Retail Associations have reported that holiday sales can account for up to 25% of a store’s annual sales.  That is not something our industry should be missing out on.

The Training Agencies in the diving industry tend to kick off the new season at the annual trade show in November.  That makes a lot of sense due to the fact that many dive instructors are either still teaching their summertime classes in September or are just starting new classes at their colleges and universities.  Having their annual Professional Development Conference around Thanksgiving gives these instructors an opportunity to get updated on all of their professional development training.

The dive travel industry has an annual rhythm of its own.  Incorporating it into the Global Diving Business Network seasonality curve is necessary, as dive travel accounts for so much activity and revenue in the global diving community.   Many Dive Resorts have told us that January is a good time for them to start their new season.  Many have told us they prefer September.  When we incorporate dive travel into our planning, we take into consideration high travel season (Jan-Mar), normal occupancy months (Apr-May), normal summer season / family travel (Jun-Aug), off-season and/or hurricane season (Sept-Nov), and Holiday Season (Dec).   Of course, these are just averages.  Every geographical destination has its own unique differences.  According to Debbie Helms from Roatan Charter, many of her colleagues in the dive travel business who are exhibiting at the DEMA Show this November will be booking group travel for the years 2025 and 2026.  Much of their 2024 season was booked last year or before.  When I asked her about pricing for the next season, she said that many dive travel wholesalers receive their new pricing by September.  Wholesalers advertise their new pricing as Show Specials in November, yet many are releasing them as pre-DEMA Specials in September.  If they don’t receive new pricing by September, they usually honor the current year prices.

Shows & Events have a significant impact on Seasonality Curves.  The Surf Expo has been conducting their trade show twice a year for over twenty years.  In my opinion, they are the watersports role model for introducing the next season to their attendees (buyers).  Surf Expo conducts their event every September and January.  Having two expos per year gives the exhibitors the option of introducing their new season in September or January.  Apparel exhibitors use both Surf Expos to introduce their Summer and Winter lines at more appropriate buying times.  It’s really all about introducing the next season to the consuming public by the buyers and sellers who make a living out of moving products from conception to consumption.

This is an exciting time to become part of the Global Diving Business Network.  For more information, contact Gene Muchanski, Executive Director of the Dive Industry Association, 2294 Botanica Circle, West Melbourne, FL 32904.  Phone: 321-914-3778.  Email: gene@diveindustry.net  Web: www.diveindustry.net

# # #