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.
Overall, fewer respondents to the Industry Report survey in 2023 were planning to add staff at their facilities than in 2022. In 2023, 32.6% of all respondents said they were planning to add staff at their facilities, compared with 37.1% in 2022.
While the general Industry Report survey population named staffing issues as their top challenge in 2023, for college respondents, staffing issues were eclipsed by problems with equipment and facility maintenance.
According to the 2022 State of the Industry Report, camp respondents were more likely than their peers from other types of facilities to be planning to add more features at their facilities over the next several years.
According to the 2022 State of the Industry Report, 38.1% of all respondents named any kind of fitness or wellness as a top concern. This includes general fitness and wellness (24.5% named it a top concern); youth fitness and wellness (16.1%) and older adult fitness and wellness (12.7%).
Respondents from the South Central region of the United States were the most likely in 2022 to report that their facilities are a home to youth sports programming. Well over half (56.9%) of respondents in the South Central region said they included youth sports activities.
