Impact Of Covid-19 Outbreak On Climbing Gym Market

A climbing gym is an artificially constructed wall with grips for hands and feet for climbing. Climbing is getting popular and becoming more of a mainstream activity rather than a niche sport. Unlike regular gyms, climbing gyms help in burning calories (anywhere between 500 to 900 calories per hour). It also helps in building strength, power, and brings aerobic and anaerobic fitness levels to new heights.

Rising popularity of outdoor sports and outdoor recreational activities worldwide is anticipated to proliferate the demand for climbing gyms. The concept of gym climbing is experiencing exponential growth in the last couple of years, especially in North America and Europe. According to Physical Activity Council and PHIT America, on an average, approximately 4.6 million Americans participate in either sport climbing, bouldering, or indoor climbing.
Additionally, rising awareness about fitness and leading a healthy lifestyle owing to higher prevalence of obesity, diabetes, and various other health issues is attracting various demographics toward regular workouts. This is anticipated to boost the climbing gym market.

Inclusion of sports climbing (bouldering, lead climbing, and speed climbing) in the Tokyo Olympics, 2020 is anticipated to create attractive opportunities for the growth of gym climbing in many Asian countries. Currently, Japan and China have considerable number of participants in one or more climbing activities. Inclusion of this sport is expected to help in popularizing the sport in many other Asian countries.

Despite exponential growth in many North American and European countries, climbing gyms still lack a presence in many countries in Asia and Middle East & Africa. The main reason for slow growth in developing regions is high initial investment associated with climbing gym set ups. Climbing walls along with the equipment used such as high tensile ropes and lanyards are expensive. This leads to premium pricing. Developing regions being mostly price sensitive thus have low market attraction for climbing gyms, hampering the growth of the gym climbing market. Additionally, lack of awareness about proper usage of such expensive equipment and risk of accidents and injuries associated with climbing activities also hampers the growth of the climbing gym market.

Geographically, the global climbing gym market can be divided into five regions: North America (NA), Europe (EU), Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East & Africa (MEA), and South America (SA).
The U.S. commands a major chunk of the North American gym climbing market. Some of the prominent manufacturers of gym climbing are from the U.S. The U.K., Germany, and France are some of the prominent countries that have a substantial market for gym climbing in Europe.
Developing regions such as Asia Pacific are anticipated to show promising growth in the gym climbing market in the upcoming years. China and other Southeast Asian countries are anticipated to drive the demand for gym climbing.