The WHO (World Health Organization) recently announced the end of the global pandemic that battered each of us across the planet for the past three years, hammering travel, tourism and the dive industry.

Unquestionably, the COVID-19 pandemic will be remembered as the most difficult threat the dive industry has faced in our lifetime. It put a near halt to air travel, consumer confidence, socializing and face-to-face meetings with people – all central to what we do. We have never seen anything of this magnitude hit all of us at the same time around the world. Our industry had never faced anything like this. So, the symbolic and official message from the WHO is therapeutic in a meaningful way: The global “war” we fought with the 2020-2023 pandemic is “officially” behind us.

Looking back in the aftermath, it’s clear the global dive community stood strong, pivoting to keep things going. Despite lockdowns, many dive classes were interrupted for only a short period. PADI Members scrambled to open online materials and course access. PADI Pros ramped-up eLearning and virtual class meetings. Modified skill exercises, gear sanitizing and distancing kept training going in many markets while reducing exposure and transmission risk. With air-travel interrupted, dive operators shifted to converting open water sites to accommodate the standards of confined water skill development while promoting local diving. Impressive.

Many of us took a big hit – some much worse than others to be sure – but without the survival grit, determination and creativity needed to pivot, it would have been much worse for the dive community and industry.

The Roaring “Twenty-Twenties” for Diving Could Lie Ahead

Recovery from the pandemic has been uneven, but the immediate future looks good for diving. In most of the world, diving has been recovering year-on-year since 2022, with many regions now approaching and even exceeding pre-pandemic levels. With COVID behind us, the next few years should be a growth opportunity for the global dive industry. The last pandemic 100 years ago preceded a period of social and economic rebound romantically referred to as the “Roaring Twenties.” Therefore, if history is any indication, we could well be at the doorstep of the “Roaring Twenty-Twenties” for the dive industry.

It is a good time to recall what the pandemic taught us: Unity equals strength in confronting a challenge.

War, epidemics, economic downturns and other disruptions may well be inevitable parts of life, but we’ve learned during the pandemic that when we stay together, we get through it. The pandemic provided each of us as members of the surviving population with something powerful: It provided the core strength we continue to build upon in 2023.
COVID taught us that flexibility, innovation and refusal to quit can surmount tremendous challenge. We have it in us.
Going forward, we can’t predict everything that will happen. If we only learned one thing from COVID, it’s that the dive industry, diving and divers are resilient and among the world’s most passionate, engaged and innovative forces. We stand united as survivors, underwater explorers, adventure seekers and ocean lovers.

As we leave the last three years behind us and look forward to the future, thank you for being a part of why diving is a growing force of positive change in the world.

Safe diving.

Drew Richardson
PADI CEO and President

The post Straight Talk from PADI CEO: The storm is officially behind us – looking forward to the “Roaring Twenty-Twenties” appeared first on PADI Pros.

President’s Desk, Business Success, Covid-19, Drew Richardson, PADI CEOPADI Pros