We did it ten times! Five years in a row at Gostiny Dvor, and before that, five years in Sokolniki - Eastern Europe’s largest industry exhibition has never skipped a year. What has changed over the past decade? Pretty much everything. Here’s what we bring into the new diving season.



As a poet once said, water keeps flowing. Over the past ten years, the event has developed a solid structure and built strong traditions. On one hand, there’s steady attendance and a reliable range of exhibits. On the other, each year brings new debuts. The waterman strides forward.

The exhibitor lineup featured 232 companies from over a dozen countries and 27 Russian regions - matching the record-breaking 2024. Over the four days, Moscow Dive Show once again surpassed 20,000 visitors (20,800 including professionals and invited guests). Any lingering effects of the pandemic and post-pandemic years have completely faded, and 500 more paid tickets were sold than last year - a particularly rewarding figure for the organizers.



Visitor flow naturally aligned with the holiday calendar: on Saturday, we welcomed both those who attended men’s corporate events the night before and those planning to celebrate Defender of the Fatherland Day on Sunday, 23th of February.

As the season approaches, regional and neighboring entrepreneurs continue to find Moscow a convenient place for business. 65% of diving business owners attended the exhibition to meet with clients, while over 30% of dive professionals planned to select group tours during the event.

Exhibition space distribution followed traditional patterns: more than a third was dedicated to diving equipment, about a quarter to training, and another quarter to tourism. Purely diving-related exhibits occupied half of the space, with the remaining half evenly split among freediving, spearfishing, and other water-related activities.



One of the standout surface-level premieres was the X-Waters open-water swimming series, created by bold innovators from Nizhny Novgorod. The 2025 calendar now includes 30 events, and the exhibition helped swimmers establish valuable international connections to expand their reach.



A key sign of support and recognition for both the exhibition and the dive community was the official participation of tourism ministries from diving-friendly nations. Cuba and Malaysia proudly displayed their flags. Additionally, this year, the Moscow Dive Show ran simultaneously with the DRT Show in Kuala Lumpur.



The current focus is on domestic waters and regions. For the third year in a row, Moneron Island Natural Park built the largest and most eye-catching booth at the exhibition. Other prominent underwater travel destinations included Lake Baikal, the Altai region, the Barents and White Seas, Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, the Shantar Islands, and the Sea of Okhotsk region, along with rare, exclusive routes known as "author’s journeys" - a highly valuable niche that makes Moscow Dive Show the ideal place to explore such options.



The equipment segment saw a noticeable increase in Chinese companies. Leading manufacturers from China showcased everything from basic swim caps to regulators and drysuits. Many of these products are already available in Russia, while even more will soon hit stores and online marketplaces following the exhibition.



Key players in domestic production were gathered at Moscow Dive Show as part of the Diving Project initiative. Both large and small Russian manufacturers presented their products for recreational diving as well as professional underwater operations, including compressors, underwater work equipment, drones, underwater communication devices, regulators, and more.



PEOPLE AS THE CORE FOCUS

In generational terms, the exhibition’s audience was dominated by Generation X (45%) and Millennials-Y (35%). Boomers and Generation Z each made up less than 10%. The emerging Generation Alpha, now turning 14 and becoming eligible for passports - and for diving - was not reflected in the statistics, as only adults filled out the surveys. However, the data collection methodology remained consistent.



As in all previous years, divers formed the majority of visitors, with over 80% involved in underwater activities. For the first time, freedivers (25%) surpassed spearfishers (less than 20%). The oldest visitors were spearfishers (median age 45), while the youngest were board riders (kite, surf, SUP), with a median age under 40. Gender distribution remained stable: kiting, surfing, and SUP were the most female-dominated activities, while spearfishing remained the most male-dominated. Newcomers tended to be younger, with more women than men. The exhibition has long evolved beyond a niche industry event, becoming widely popular. The 17% of first-time visitors looking for a new activity represent a crucial growth potential for the community. They are the ones who will become the next generation of water sports enthusiasts.

Additionally, two out of five divers (40%) also practice freediving, while 27% of freedivers and 31% of divers also engage in spearfishing. Even among yachters, surfers, and board riders, 79% reported an interest in diving, freediving, spearfishing, or underwater photography.