Watersports Market - Forecast(2024 - 2030)

Watersports Market Overview

The Watersports Market size is forecast to reach $7.4 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 4.8% from 2022 to 2027. Tourism continues to be one of the sectors hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly for countries in the Asia-Pacific region and Western Hemisphere. Some governments have been providing financial support, either directly or through soft loans and guarantees to the industry. Thailand allocated $700 million to spur domestic tourism, while Vanuatu offered grants to small and medium-sized enterprises. Countries have also been assisting firms to adapt their business models and retrain staff. In Jamaica, the government gave free online training certification classes to 10,000 tourism workers to help improve their skills. All these factors will have a positive impact on the tourism sector in the mid to long term. In the short-term, Tourism continues to recover at a strong pace. Globally, destinations welcomed almost three times as many international arrivals in the first quarter of 2022 as in the same period of 2021, with Europe leading the sector’s rebound. According to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, International tourism saw a 182% year-on-year increase in January-March 2022, with destinations worldwide welcoming an estimated 117 million international arrivals compared to 41 million in Q1 2021. This will drive the demand for the Watersports sector, not just the activities but equipment such as life jackets, safety helmets, buoyancy control devices (BCD) and swim fins as well. Humans have a unique ability to adapt to hot temperatures by boosting blood flow to the skin and perspiration rate. Bodies are significantly less adaptable in cold conditions, necessitating the use of layers upon layers of clothing. This makes winter running very difficult and causes many runners to slow down. Due to this reason, it is difficult to do major water sports in cold regions. This is expected to hinder the market growth. Even with safety procedures, water sports have a high risk of injury. Many people die while attempting or performing these feats. It pushes the body beyond its comfort zone and may not go down well if the body is not prepared for such a strenuous workout or if the person is not a frequent participant in water sports.

Report Coverage

The report: “Watersports Industry Outlook – Forecast (2022-2027)”, by IndustryARC covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments in the Watersports industry.

Key Takeaways

• The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on communities worldwide, imposing considerable limits on many facets of society, including sports. FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation) made several critical decisions to postpone or cancel major swimming events. Swimmers were not permitted to continue their customary training in swimming pools and were instead confined to their homes.
• Since its inception, the COVID-19 epidemic has spread to nearly every country on earth. Many routine parts of life, including sport and physical exercise, have been interrupted by social and physical distancing measures, lockdowns of businesses, schools, and overall social life, which have become standard to restrict the spread of the disease. While in the mid-term Covid-19 will have a positive impact as the market, especially the tourism industry, recovers post Covid-19, the long and especially short-term prospects will certainly be impacted by the Covid-19 slowdown of the Tourism sector.
• Companies in the surface water sports equipment market are currently experiencing difficulties. The travel and tourist industry may suffer the most from the extraordinary COVID-19 epidemic. As a result, the Watersports industry outlook suffers as a result.

Watersports Industry Segment Analysis - By Architecture

Based on architecture segmentation, Multi-Activity segment is analyzed to account for the highest share of the market in 2021 at 66.3% share. In multi-activity the focus is on multiple water-based sports where the participants are able to dive, row, raft, snorkel, boat race in rivers, canals lakes and oceans worldwide. Multiple-activity Watersports are designed to take advantage of the unique characteristics of the surrounding landscape with sea kayaking and other activities. The growth of the various watersport activities such as scuba diving where people are using Buoyancy Control Devices (BCD) has inspired the vendors to develop more advanced googles, lifejackets and others. The majority of people are showing interest in scuba diving as it is an enjoyable and adrenaline-boosting deep-water sport with health benefits such as strength, breathing, flexibility, lower blood pressure, fitness, and others. The Buoyancy Control Devices are outfitted with a new pressure valve technology that allows depressurization of the unit after ascending to the surface, saves air and spends more time exploring new dive sites, reefs and wrecks. The growth of the global tourism industry has a great impact in the economic growth in various destinations, especially the mass tourist places such as the coastal regions and also the increase in the adoption of a healthy lifestyle by the consumers leading to an increase in a number of water sports enthusiasts which are driving the growth of the market as well as sales of life jackets and safety helmets.

Watersports Industry Segment Analysis - By Activities

Smart Watches segment is analyzed to account for a high CAGR of around 5.3% in the Watersports Market during 2022-2027. In scuba diving breathing equipment is used that is completely independent of surface air as it is a type of underwater driving. A gas blend with higher oxygen content, known as enriched air or nitrox is used although use of compressed air is common. This is a recreational sport where one of the instructors gets into the water with participants of maximum depth 12m to see spectacular fish and swaying plants and explore beautiful corals and fantastic marine life. Growth of recreational activities coupled with disposable income and a surge in coastal tourism, lot of tourists across the globe prefer to travel to the coastal regions, especially during winters which meet the three S criteria, Sea, Sand and Sun, witness the highest demand among coastal visitors increasing the opportunities for scuba driving. The first level of scuba diving certification is PADI – (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) Open water Driver where the highly trained instructor teaches scuba dive in a supportive and relaxed environment with safety helmets and life jackets. The second level is practicing using scuba gear with expect shallow dives (12m/40ft) and the maximum allowed depth is 18m/60ft. These training programs are essential to teach the required skills, handling of diving equipment and techniques to minimize the risk under the water to ensure proper diving training from an authorized agency to dive safely.

Watersports Market Segment Analysis - Geography

North America region is analyzed to account for the highest share of the Watersports Market in 2021 with 44.1%. Growing technological advancements in sports activities such as water polo, scuba diving and others, a growing number of Watersports enthusiast, increased awareness of a healthy lifestyle and various government initiatives to promote water sports and nautical tourism has led to the development of the Watersports Market in North America. Nautical Tourism is developing rapidly in North America as it encompasses aspects of marine tourism such as sailing, yachting, cruising and diving, as well as harbor-side developments, coastal water sports such as jet-skiing, boat shows, port tours, and marine heritage destinations. Moreover, it is growing rapidly due to a discerning and heterogeneous travel market and the demand for a more focused activity or interest-based tourism experiences. According to the Tourism Report, river cruises are increasingly popular in the U.S., with trips like a paddle-wheel cruise down the Mississippi River that stops at iconic destinations such as St. Louis, Missouri, Memphis, Tennessee, and New Orleans, Louisiana and recreational boating is a very popular leisure activity with more than 87 million people in the U.S. taking part annually.

Watersports Market Drivers

An increase in the Number of Water Sports Enthusiasts and the health benefits of water sports will help to boost the market growth

Water activities are popular not just for the adrenaline rush they provide while getting tanned and toned, but also for the numerous health benefits they provide. Water activities are usually done outside, where you may breathe fresh air and be one with nature. It uplifts the spirit, puts in a good mood, and keeps energized. With the global spread of Covid-19 limiting all usual activities and individuals being encouraged to stay at home or close to home, everyday exercise has provided much-needed relaxation from the pressures of living through a global pandemic. Walking, running, and cycling have been the most popular outdoor activities for people trying to better their mental health in the great outdoors. A Sport England Survey commissioned to examine the public's activity levels and attitudes toward exercise during the first six weeks of lockdown found that 63% of people believed exercise is vital for their mental health during the first six weeks of lockdown. Water sports, like any other sport or kind of exercise, are beneficial to the body. Furthermore, it is beneficial to the mind. Water's calming effect relieves tension, anxiety, and depression. Swimming, for example, has been shown to increase mood in both men and women. Water sports are excellent forms of exercise that improve both the body and the mind. With outdoor water sports so directly linked to the environment, recycled synthetics like as polyester and nylon are essential for the environmentally minded. All of the leading finer suppliers are recycling and developing bio synthetics with novel polymers for wetter settings that perform and improve performance.

Rise in Soft Adventure Tourism in APAC

The tourism industry is in a recovery process post Covid-19. The younger generation will lead the tourism recovery charge as they seek unique soft adventure experiences in International arenas. The focus on adventure tourism in undiscovered locations is driving the demand for the Watersports sector, particularly sailing, surfing, kayaking and canoeing. China and India have witnessed rapid transformation alongside South East Asia as soft tourism destinations. Sanya in China for example has rapidly emerged as a popular surfing destination over the last five years. According to the Adventure Travel Trade Association, Europe is the main source market for adventure tourism companies in Africa (43%) and Asia (30%). However due to COVID-19, the number of Europeans traveling outside of Europe decreased by 98% in June 2020 compared to June 2019. This recovery post Covid-19 will once again drive the Asian Soft Adventure Tourism market

Watersports Market Challenges

Declining Number of Casual Diving Enthusiasts in U.S

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 and could be classified as experienced divers. These 2020 numbers represent a drop of 4.7% from the previous year. 2020. Although this can be negated as 2020 was a special pandemic year. Yet, if we look at the trends from 2015, participation has been dropping consistently every year for the casual sector in particular. In the 2021 SFIA report, we see a greater decrease in participation by casual divers (1 to 7 dives per year) than experienced divers (more than 8 dives per year). It’s been the case in through the majority of the latter half of the 2010s as well. On both a 3-year or 5-year annual growth average, casual divers participation dropped more than that of experienced divers. This decline in participation is expected to recover post Covid-19. However, the recovery of the experienced divers is set to outpace casual divers in the U.S market. This factor is at odds with other markets, particularly in the Middle East and APAC regions where casual divers continue to significantly outpace demand from experienced divers. This hindrance will have an impact not just on the U.S market, but also on the entire North American and South American markets where Americans continue to make up a significant portion of tourists.

Watersports Industry Outlook

Product launches, acquisitions, and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by players in the Watersports industry. The key players in the Watersports Market include

1. Bali Jetpacks and Water Sports
2. Fury Water Adventures (Key West)
3. Gold Coast Watersports
4. Cruz Bay Watersports
5. Rockley Watersports
6. Athens Watersports School
7. Oman Sail
8. H&S Watersports Academy – Jordan
9. Nemo WaterSports Dubai Jet Ski & Flyboard
10. Amorgos Diving Center

Recent Developments

• In February 2022, Mistral, one of the most recognized Watersports brands in the world, was acquired by the Dutch brand equity investor NMG.
• In January 2022, Midwest Water Sports, a Minnesota-based retailer acquired the online Watersports retailers BuyWake.com and RedshiftWaterSports.com.
• In January 2021, Seawall Capital, LLC announced that it has acquired Kent Water SportsHoldings, LLC and its related entities for an undisclosed amount.

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