Heading into spring, we’ve seen a surge of surf industry interest in our humble, weird little niche world of wave pools. In the span of seven days, SIMA announced its 2026 Surf Industry Growth Report, which focuses heavily on surf parks this year, while Shop Eat Surf ran a feature on how Atlantic Park Surf is juicing up the Virginia Beach surf economy.
The big push—or simple “reveal,” if you are already a believer in pools as sales stimulators—kicked off late last year at the SIMA Super Summit, where technology company Endless Surf presented to salted industry vets (most of whom admitted to having never surfed in a wave pool) the benefits of artificial waves.
Why Surf Parks Could Be the Surf Industry’s Next Growth Engine
Former Rip Curl Europe Director and CCO of Endless Surf, Baptiste Caulonque, said today’s confluence of salted and chlorinated markets has been in the making for quite some time. He pointed to early surf park adopters in the UK, Korea, Switzerland, Australia, and the USA and how they mapped out the evolving surf economic terrain.
“These five or six surf parks all opened between 2016 and 2020,” said Caulonque. “They spent money and overspent money, but they led the way for the whole wave pool industry. What’s interesting is that when those pioneers opened the surf parks, it was really a surf-only experience. Sometimes they had a bar—sometimes—but not always, they would have a retail surf shop.”
It seems impossible today to imagine a surfing facility without a dedicated shop. Today, thriving surf retail is a key component of any surf park business model.
Caulonque says it’s simple math.
“I see surf parks helping the surf industry because they have about 450,000 visitors a year: 150,000 surfers and 300,000 accompanying guests,” said Caulonque. “About 50 percent are beginners. There are 20 parks today, and it’s fair to assume 10+ each year to come for a long time. So, it increases the exposure of surfing to new people and in ‘terra incognita’ places or very urban areas.”
Endemic Surf Industry Media Notices the Trend
The number of newbies varies in each market, with venues serving existing surfers while also expanding the sport’s participation base. This makes wave pools a powerful customer-acquisition channel for the wider surf industry.
Shop Eat Surf Outdoor’s Kate Robertson reported that legacy retailer Quiet Storm will open a 4,900-square-foot store later this month as part of the Atlantic Park Surf development. The goal is direct access to a new surf-stoked demographic.
“It’s an opportunity to be right in the heart of the surf world,” Quiet Storm owner Bill Dreibelbis said about the wave pool. “We especially think we’re going to kill it with our women’s juniors business… Plus, there will be a lot of restaurants in the development—we think the store’s going to do really well.”
SOS also examined the synergy between Atlantic Park Surf and on-site shop Wave Riding Vehicles, who said their neoprene sales have increased 100% thanks to the wave pool. The sales bump gives WRV a boost after a couple of slow retail years.
“If this (the surf park) hadn’t opened, I think we would have still been drifting down last year—not out of control, very manageable,” L.G. Shaw, president of Wave Riding Vehicles (WRV), told SOS. “This has shown early signs of turning that around.”
Surf Industry Manufacturer’s Association Recognizes Wave Pools
Decades ago, Quiksilver’s Bob McKnight famously told the surf industry that to expand, they would need to “grow the pond.” At that time, the Big Three injected money into surf schools and other programs to increase the surfing demographic and their customer base. The problem was that you still had to be adjacent to the coast.
The Surf Industry Members Association’s (SIMA) upcoming industry report—an analysis of participation trends, market dynamics, and growth opportunities for the surf industry—is going heavy on surf parks in 2026.
“Advancements in wave technology and growing interest in surf experiences are creating new pathways for people to discover surfing,” said SIMA in a statement. “New markets far from the coast are discovering surfing through wave parks and travel. This shift is creating new opportunities for brands, retailers, and destinations.”
The report reiterates that the surf industry continues to grow due to increased participation, mostly through expanded access to waves. For surf park developers, the report provides insights designed to better understand this evolving surf consumer base.
Given that the nascent wave pool space is so incredibly niche—and that data is so closely guarded by the handful of veterans in the space—the veracity of solid information can be an elusive unicorn.
Executive Director at SIMA, Vipe Desai, ensured WavePoolMag that the information contained in their guide is solid.
“This report is built using data from over 150 specialty retail stores, participation metrics, sampling inputs from leading industry partners, and a range of validated market indicators,” said Desai. “These inputs are processed through an AI-powered analytical model that synthesizes, cross-checks, and extrapolates the findings to provide a comprehensive, but conservative, view of the surf industry landscape.”
The SIMA report will officially be released on April 6 at a retail price of $750, with early-access pricing of $500. You can check it out here.
Caulonque said that wave pools will continue to stoke sales for surf brands, but hinted that the real future will be wave-pool-specific gear and programs.
“If the surf industry designs products—like chlorine-resistant wetties—and continues activation initiatives (surf schools, local community happenings, and more), their brands will be at the heart of this upcoming crazy growth.”
Surf park-focused gear? Hey, surf brands—are you listening?
