Respondents to the Industry Report survey from YMCAs, YWCAs, JCCs and Boys & Girls Clubs were the most likely to report a year-over-year increase in the number of people using their facilities.

More than six in 10 (60.1%) park respondents to the Industry Report survey said that staffing issues were a top concern for their facility in 2023, and 55% said equipment and facility maintenance were a top concern.

According to the 2023 Industry Report survey, 83.4% of respondents with aquatics have a lifeguard on duty at their facilities.

More than three-quarters (76.6%) of all aquatic respondents to the Industry Report survey said they currently provide learn-to-swim programs for children at their facilities. More than half (52.9%) said they currently include swim lessons for adults in their program lineup.

Respondents from parks and Ys were the most likely to report that they currently provide adaptive sports programs in their lineup, while those from rec centers were the most likely to be planning to add adaptive sports programs over the next few years. 

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.