The First After-COVID Dive Exhibition

During the whole year we were facing cancellations of dive shows - DEMA, boot Duesseldorf, Salon de la Plongee, EUDI and many others in Europe, Americas and Asia, one by one.In this context, people with a keen interest (and sometimes with even some suspicion) were looking after preparations of the Moscow exhibition and had some doubts (reasonable though in current situation) that it would take place in 2021.Yet the exhibition was held with a success, and occurred to be a large-scale and bright show fulfilled with events: 176 participant companies from 16 countries, 18,000+ visitors, 100+ presentations, conferences, film screenings and special shows on the main stage and in the conference room.

The Moscow Dive Show became the first dive exhibition on the Globe held in due dates after the pandemic year, and it was a great event and pleasure for all of us who yearn for freedom, travel, water and wind.We do believe that exhibitions in other countries will revive soon as well, and meanwhile we prepared the analysis of the Moscow Dive Show 2021 visitor survey and want to share the results with you.

Gostiny Dvor as a New Old Hosting Venue. A High-Class Spacious Place Filled with Light

It is exactly the very place where diving exhibitions were held until 2014, the venue that is so much familiar to both visitors and participants and loved by them. Location of two steps away from the Kremlin only, the atrium of 12,000 square meters covered by glass ceiling, magnificent architecture and good vibes of the place, all these represent the advantages of this exhibition hall.Among disadvantages some difficulties indelivery of equipment and lack of parking zones should be mentioned. Still advantages prevail, and next year the Moscow Dive Show will also be held at GostinyDvor. The contract is completed, so you can book a booth and buy flight tickets for the following dates:

The Moscow Dive Show 2022, February 17-20, GostinyDvor.

To see the charming atmosphere of GostinyDvor please try a virtual 3D tour created by Russia 360 by the following link:

Exhibitors

176 companies from 16 countries presented their products and services at the Moscow Dive Show 2021. This number is slightly less than last year, but more than enough to form a quorum and to create a business environment on the site. The most of permanent exhibitors participated this year.Only a few of major companies did not come, namely RuDive, Russian Office of PADI (due to PADI's general decision to retain from participating in any exhibition of any country for 2021) and Imprex (TUSA and Waterproof). Besides Polish manufacturers X Deep and Sea Wolf could not come to Moscow because of the pandemic restrictions (we expecting them to participate in next edition in February 2022).

This is where the bad news ends and the good news begins. More than 30 companies took part in the Moscow exhibition for the first time. The Diving Project special area is worth to be mentioned individually, itbrought together both civil and military diving related companies, as well as representatives of relevant government departments, the Ministry of Emergencies of Russia, the Department of Civil Defense and Emergencies of Moscow and others.

  

Considering existing flight restrictions, Maldives and Egypt were superstars among tourist section. It was the first time then Maldives were represented by a large national collective booth organized by Maldives Marketing & Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC). It was a great pleasure to see many other countries participating in the exhibition, e.g. Cuba, Malaysia, Mexico, Indonesia, Philippines, and Dominica.Russian Dive Centers presented their projects from the Baltic to the Sea of Japan.

  

Exhibition Visitors

Key figures are as following: 18,000+ visits and 12,000+ unique visitors for 4 days, -8% for ticket sales, + 40% for professionals registration. Last year, guests from Belarus, the Baltic States, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Azerbaijan together represented almost 7% of the total number of visitors. This year the borders were closed and we lost nearly the same proportion of ticket sale revenue.

  

The Moscow visitor share increases by 5%, St. Petersburg visitor share remains the same, share distribution through other regions also is mainly the same – people from more than 50 cities visited the Show.

Visitor structure by type of underwater and surface activities remains mostly the same as in previous year. The top three are exactly the same - diving, spearfishing and freediving. Diving and spearfishing loose several percent in the rankings, while freediving, on the contrary, adds scores catching up to spearfishing, reducing a gap with it to 7%. A very important figure showing the general interest of general public to the exhibition is the percentage of beginners who are just choosing their hobby. In 2021, 14% pointed out as such, which is +2% more than last year.

Females strengthen their position every year, now we see +4% increase to 2020. This is trend is more prominent for diving and freediving, although we see more and more women among yachtsmen. Spearfishing remains the only area where male dominance is nearly 100%.

Let’s take a look at the age distribution within each activity. Activities attracting the most "adult” people, as expected, are yachting and diving, with the total share of those from 40 to 60 years old counting to67% and 55%, respectively. Almost half of freedivers and spearfishers are between 25 and 40 years old. The share of the youngest under 25 is highest again among freedivers and surfers.

The beginners represent the youngest ages, with maximum share of those of under 25 and 25-40. There are no surprises here either, it is logical to choose a hobby after college, and not before retirement, although diving and yachting often say the opposite J due to the fact that the second half of life usually brings more free time and money.

Loyal regular visitors still forms the core of the Show – 65% had already visited the exhibition in the past. Among 35% of "new comers” of the Moscow Dive Show we count 14% of beginners and 21% of experienced water activities lovers.

Locations visited by the Show visitors in 2020

One of the most important questions of the survey was about travel activity of visitors within Russia and abroad. The 2020 was a difficult year, since borders were closed, planes stuck to the ground and the whole situation was quite bad, but even in these conditions get the statistics data. The detailed analysis will be available in a separate report, and now please be advised with the following key figures:

•55% did not travel abroad;

•37% did not travel outside their region;

•The three leaders for foreign travels became Egypt, Turkey and the Maldives. The first place was taken by Egypt for all underwater activities, and Turkey was the favorite place for yachtsmen and beginners. The Maldives took the second place among divers and underwater photographers.

•For domestic tourism, the Black Sea is far ahead other destinations. Moreover, the Crimea was a couple percent ahead of the Krasnodar Region.

  

Registration of Professionals

Individual PROFESSIONAL badges providing free admission to the exhibition in 2021 covered thefollowing categories:

- divers with a valid dive instructor or dive master certificate;

- freedivers with a valid instructor certificate;

- civil and military divers with valid qualifications of 4-7 grade, as well as veteran divers;

- yacht skippers with a license of any level.

The quarantine year made free-and-easy wanderers stay home, the history of the Moscow Dive Show had never seen so many professionals who remained in Russia at the moment and not engaged in activities on fare seas and oceans. 1200 pros received their badges, +40% to the number of the previous year.

We also take a count in a way of informal competition among diving training systems, stated in profiles of dive instructors and dive masters. Three leading systems remain the same - PADI, NDL and CMAS, but the order between them has changed. NDL came out on top by a wide margin, pushing PADI down to second place. Bronze medal remained with CMAS.

Advertising Channels

In the survey we asked visitors to mark the most convenient for them sources of information about the exhibition - social networks, magazines, mailings, websites, etc. The received replies will be useful to all exhibitors when setting up advertising campaigns for specific target audiences. The brief conclusions are as follows:

- Leaders in descending order - Facebook, Instagram, VK and Youtube.

- The most "adult" audience of divers and yachtsmen unconditionally votes for Facebook. Spear hunters and beginners are minority segments choosing Facebook.

- Beginners, as a "younger" audience, vote for Instagram, which is also popular with other "young" segment, freedivers and surfers. Underwater photographers love Instagram, apparently for the ease of viewing photos.

- VK is the main channel for underwater hunters, but divers and yachtsmen are much more difficult to find here.

- OK. This is the simplest point. It's quiet here and almost no one is there. OK have become a social media for regions, while Moscow left this field long ago.

- Youtube loses to social networks, but confidently takes 4th place. Underwater hunters are a bit more inclined to use it.

- The Ultimate Depth and World of Spearfishing magazines also have their share of the advertising map. They gain only 5% less than the audience of Youtube. It is logical that this channel is more welcomed by divers, underwater photographers and spear hunters.

- Mailings from the Moscow Dive Show organizing committee have overtaken Youtube in popularity and this is good news. They are mostly welcomed by underwater photographers.

- News releases on specialized sites take the last place in the rating together with OK.

Events and Entertainment at the Show

Change of the venue to GostinyDvor gave another significant advantage, a great stage area with a multi-tiered amphitheater, allowing viewers to enjoy presentations and film screenings in a comfortable way. Besides the stage, a spacious conference hall had been built at the entrance to the exhibition hall.

The First Rebreather Conference, which gathered on the main stage both representatives of major world rebreather manufacturers and custom solutions from Russian designers, was one on the most interesting events. On Saturday the most popular performances were held on the main stage, the Battle of the Heroes of the Depth and the Gifts Hour, and Sunday traditionally was devoted to freedivers and underwater photographers who filled the day with thematic meetings and master classes.

The Sailing Federation of the Moscow Region made a special performance, an interactive video that allows you to train the basic skills of sailing a yacht, moreover, in conditions of a real regatta. It was an excellent case for "subcontractors" to come up with something similar in other areas - diving, freediving, spearfishing. Putting a visitor inside the process is the shortest way to attract new followers.

  

Underwater Microcosm Secrets

During the exhibition, GostinyDvor turns not only into a noisy fair, but also into a real laboratory for the study of underwater life. Konstantin Neverov, Marine biologist, again and again told children and adults about the challenging life of many-legged, furry-bellied and other mysterious inhabitants of seas and rivers. It was another good reason to visit the exhibition with the whole family.

Underwater Photography Exhibition

More than 80 photos were presented by the best Russian underwater photographers. For the first time, a vote was organized for visitors, who could give their votes to a photo just touching their admission bracelet with a barcode to an EXPODAT terminal in the area of photography exhibition.

First place - Roman Hurghada	Second place - Alexey Magay	Third place - Alexey Zozulya

We have already started preparations for the Moscow Dive Show 2022 scheduled to be held on February 17-20 in Gostiny Dvor exhibition center.Don’t be late to book your booth and buy flight tickets in advance.After May 30, 2021, all booths not confirmed for booking by the standing exhibitors, will become available for new clients, keep monitoring the floor plan.

Do not hesitate to ask any questions concerning a booth booking process to Emil Latypov: emil@diveshow.ru

Thank you and see you in Moscow again!