After seeing a dramatic decrease in the number of people using their facilities amidst the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, attendance at parks and recreation facilities has been getting back to normal ever since. 

2023’s Industry Report Survey shows a significant jump in the number of respondents who have plans to add features at their facilities over the next few years. In 2023, 46.6% said they had such plans, up from 39.1% in 2022, and 37.1% in 2021.

We asked Industry Report respondents about their involvement in a variety of initiatives related to inclusion and outreach, conservation and wellness, and in every case, park respondents were leading the way. Some 93.9% of park respondents said they were involved in at least one initiative on the list.

In 2023, nearly eight out of 10 (78%) college and university respondents to the Industry Report survey said they planned to maintain their existing staff levels. Another 22% said they were planning to increase staff, and no college and university respondents were planning to reduce staff in 2023.

Some 41.5% of respondents in 2023 said they had plans to add more programming options to their facilities’ lineup over the next three years. This is up substantially from 2022, when 35.7% had such plans. The most commonly planned program additions were educational programs, mind-body balance programs like yoga, and teen programming.

Some audiences tend to be left out when it comes to learn-to-swim opportunities, with economic as well as racial disparities having a heavy impact on who does and does not learn to swim. The Aquatic Trends Report found that the number of respondents providing outreach programs to these audiences has fallen slightly.

We asked Industry Report respondents about their involvement in a variety of initiatives related to inclusion and outreach, conservation and wellness, and in every case, park respondents were the most likely to be rising to the challenge.

More than half of respondents to the Industry Report survey in 2023 said they currently include fitness programs (55.3%) or group exercise programs (53.5%) at their facilities.

According to the Aquatic Trends Report, respondents from Ys were the most likely both to have a lifeguard on duty at all times, and to offer water safety programs.