Market analysis and options appraisal

Sometimes you don’t need a full feasibility study or business plan. You need a clear, evidence-based answer on what your market actually supports, to help inform the development of future options.

We conduct independent market analysis and options appraisals for visitor attractions, heritage properties, museums, recreation sites, country parks and tourist destinations, providing boards, trustees, councils, and management teams with the evidence needed to make informed decisions.

Why organisations come to us for this

You may already have identified two or three potential options, for example, taking forward a new build, an extension to an existing building, a change of use, a new partnership, but have not reached agreement on the preferred option.

Or you may simply need to understand your market properly before you make that decision. The size of the available market, who your visitors are, where they come from and who else is competing for them. This work is often commissioned before a full feasibility study or business plan is completed. It’s equally useful as a first stage of a bigger, larger project, feeding directly into a feasibility study, business plan, strategic review, or master plan.

Our market analysis services include

• Drive-time catchment analysis: Understanding who you can reach from your site, where, and how that compares to comparable attractions or visitor sites
• Tourism market assessment: Identifying trends in terms of the volume and value of tourism, seasonality of tourism flows and the wider trends shaping the sector
• Visitor attraction market analysis: Analysis of trends in the visitor attraction sector, which is facing increasing pressure from increasing operational costs
• Education market analysis: Assessing demand from schools and learning groups
• Economic context: Options need to be placed in the context of the current economic landscape, which impacts both consumer demand and the operating costs of managing all sites (including increasing wage rolls, utility costs, and supplies and services)
• Benchmarking learning from best practice: Against comparable visitor attractions, heritage sites, and museums to understand performance and positioning
• Competitive landscape review: Build up an understanding of the area’s broader offer as a basis for strategic planning and to identify competitors in the marketplace. It will be important to ensure there is limited duplication of the type of options being proposed

Our options appraisal services

If you have not yet identified future options, we can work with you to do so. The options will respond to visitor trends, strategic objectives and available resources. Consultation findings and lessons from case studies and other sources will highlight ways to capitalise on emerging opportunities and address challenges.

It is worth highlighting that Net Zero, the Biodiversity and Climate Emergency, and wider macroeconomic trends are factors that may bring to light actions that are now central to developing future options.

Using a weighted scoring matrix will enable an objective and robust assessment of each potential option to help identify the Lead Option. Assessment criteria with a weighted scoring system could include, for example:

• The policy and funding context, testing options against the external policy landscape, relevant tourism strategies, and funding priorities such as the National Lottery Heritage Fund and local authority and other funding
• Site fit from a physical, planning and conservation perspective
• The fit with your own organisation’s objectives and vision and the availability of resources
• Financial sustainability and wider impacts. The option should have the potential to be sustainable over the long-term – generating income to offset the project’s operating costs (including maintenance). Wider impacts could include raising the profile of the area (making it a more attractive place to live and invest in) and benefits for the local economy
• Market demand and appeal to different market segments e.g. local residents, day visitors, tourists, education groups, special interest groups etc
• The level of risk and complexity to deliver and operate are also important considerations

Once you have clear market evidence and a preferred option, the next step depends on what the appraisal shows. That might be a full feasibility study or business plan to develop a specific project, a strategic review if the direction of a whole organisation is in question, or a visitor experience master plan if physical development is a priority.

We’re happy to carry out that work or hand over the market evidence and options appraisal for your team or board to take forward.

Projects we’ve worked on

• Natural England, commissioned to carry out a site review and detailed market assessment to help identify appropriate opportunities to enhance the visitor experience at the Lincolnshire Coronation Coast National Nature Reserve,
• Enfield Council at Forty Hall, a Grade I listed Jacobean Manor House, we carried out a market review and options appraisal to enhance income-generating opportunities, supported by a financial analysis of elite options
• Cardiff Capital Region prepared a destination profile and baseline strategic review to understand the potential visitor economy across the region
• Cotswold Lake Trust carried out a market review and evaluated appropriate water-based uses, education activities and supporting visitor infrastructure which could be introduced at Waterhay Lake and on land immediately adjacent to the lake
• Central Bedfordshire Council we carried out a high-level options review to identify potential development opportunities at Tiddenfoot Waterside Park
• Northumberland National Park Authority commissioned us to carry out an options appraisal and prepared the business plan for Walltown Country Park – a gateway to Hadrian’s Wall
• National Trust for Scotland benchmarked six historic properties and estates to identify key lessons to help inform future decision-making around the admissions experience and pay barrier options for heritage properties and wider estates
• Cambridge Science Centre worked with the senior management team to carry out a market analysis to support the ongoing transformation of the Cambridge Science Centre
• Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council, as part of an NLHF project, we worked in a multi-disciplinary team to carry out a market assessment and options (with supporting financial models) and to identify and evaluate new uses for Margam Castle (Grade I)

What makes us different?

Most consultancies carry out market analysis and prepare option appraisals from the outside looking in.  We don’t.  Our sister company, Planning Solutions Limited (PSL) has over 30 years of hands-on experience of running and developing visitor attractions, heritage sites, hospitality, and tourism businesses.

This operational experience provides insights that make the market analysis and options appraisal more grounded than most.

PSL manages and invests in:

• CONKERS, a discovery centre set in 120 acres of woodland, including two visitor centres and a 600-seat covered amphitheatre
• Kent Life Heritage Park celebrates rural life across Kent
• Cotswolds Country Park and Beach, a seasonal country park and water sports destination
• The Royal Esplanade Hotel, a 70-bed hotel in the Isle of Wight
• Burton Bridge Brewery and Burton Bridge Inn
• The National Brewery Centre, formerly the Bass Museum, managed from 2010 to 2022

Talk to us about your market analysis or options appraisal

Whether you need a clear understanding of your market before deciding what to do next, or you already have options identified and need them to be tested against the evidence, we’ll be glad to help.

Contact Richard Linnington on 07866 742628 or email Richard at pslplan.co.uk