Aquatic facilities are complex and extremely varied, with budgets ranging from the tens of thousands to tens of millions, but they all have one thing in common: providing a way for visitors to engage with water. Even at the lowest end of that spectrum, managing an aquatic facility can be an intricate balancing act, from managing and maintaining the equipment that keeps water clean and safe to adding amenities to make your facility more attractive to users, from staffing and training lifeguards to coming up with new ideas for programming to get more people into the water.
In this, our annual Aquatic Trends Report, we aim to corral that complexity with data from hundreds of aquatic management professionals across the U.S. We sent out our questionnaire in the fall of 2023, and more than 600 respondents filled us in on everything from their aquatic operating budgets to the equipment, amenities and programming they offer at their facilities.
In the following pages, you’ll find a summary of their responses, data you can use to see how your own facility and operations compare. We also have an expert take on drowning prevention programs, as well as an overview of some of the top aquatic products for 2024.
Happy Swimming!
Emily Tipping
Editorial Director,
Recreation Management
emily@recmanagement.com
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