Visitor Experience and Tourism Consultants

Advisory Services

Planning Solutions Consulting Limited are experts in visitor experiences. We work across the tourism, heritage, leisure, recreation and environmental sectors, delivering services including:

• Market analysis and options appraisals
• Economic feasibility studies and business plans (including business and business resilience plans for National Lottery Heritage Fund projects)
• Concept feasibility studies, visitor experience plans and masterplans
• Operational reviews, business resilience plans and income generation
• Visitor management plans
• Sustainable destination management plans
• Visitor research

Whether a project is large or small, a spark of an idea or a review of an existing operation, we are committed to delivering results grounded in detailed research and creative thinking.  Find out more about the advisory services we offer.

We work across the UK, the Republic of Ireland and Europe, and have been providing robust, independent advisory services to clients since 1995. Our clients include local authorities, National Park Authorities (from the Pembrokeshire Coast NPA through to the South Down NPA and Northumberland NPA), Tenby Museum and Art Gallery, Wildlife Trusts, Cambridge Museum of Technology, the National Trust for Scotland, English Heritage, Historic Environment Scotland, the National Trust, Cumbria Tourism, the RSPB, Forestry England and Natural Resources Wales.

Our heritage can be traced back to the holiday research division at the Rank Group (Rank Holidays and Hotels Limited), which developed Oasis Forest Holiday Village in Whinfell Forest, Cumbria, a 750-lodge forest resort with comprehensive central facilities, later acquired by Center Parcs.

Sites and Sectors We Work In

• Country parks and green spaces
• Nature reserves and wildlife tourism
• Visitor centres and visitor attractions
• Science discovery centres and STEM learning experiences 
• Forest recreation and tourism
• Farm parks 
• Catering
• Holiday accommodation
• Heritage properties
• Castles and forts
• Walled gardens and historic gardens
• Museums
• Churches and religious sites
• Mines and quarries
• National Lottery Heritage Fund
• Watersports and activity centres
• Coastal tourism and regeneration
• Destinations and activity tourism
• Canals and waterways and reservoirs
• Events
• National Park Authorities
• Farms and rural diversification
• Cinemas, marina and commercial leisure

Why Our Consultancy is Different: Managing Complex Visitor Sites and Tourism Businesses

Most consultancies advise. We also operate.

Our sister company, Planning Solutions Limited operates a heritage centre, visitor attractions, watersports, a hotel and a brewery. These include CONKERS Discovery Centre in the National Forest, Cotswold Country Park and Beach, Kent Life Heritage Farm, the Burton Bridge Brewery and the Royal Esplanade Hotel. From 2010 to 2022, the company also managed the National Brewery Centre (formerly the Bass Museum).

This direct operational experience gives us a genuine understanding of the opportunities and challenges involved in developing and managing visitor, heritage, tourism and leisure businesses — and brings a strong commercial realism to everything we do. Find out more about our direct operational experience here.

Our Approach

We offer realistic, robust advice grounded in experience, detailed market research, a thorough understanding of the economic context, and meaningful stakeholder and community engagement. Working with both large and small datasets is central to our approach. We collaborate closely with clients to understand their objectives, challenges and priorities, helping them reach their potential and supporting sustainable growth.

Our offer is distinctive: a unique combination of consultancy expertise and direct operational experience. As our work progresses, we build consensus and facilitate client learning at every step.

Since 1995, we have developed frameworks and tried-and-tested approaches, which reduce the risk of failure.   

Client Testimonials

“Pembrokeshire County Council, in conjunction with a partnership of public, private and third sector organisations, procured PSC to develop a robust feasibility study assessing the potential of Haverfordwest Castle to become a flagship heritage attraction. This was a complex study with a range of professionals involved and PSC managed all the various different subcontractors very effectively throughout the process.

The study itself includes some of the most defendable revenue business planning assumptions that I have seen in studies of this nature. Oftentimes, consultants can be somewhat overoptimistic in their financial assumptions in order to give clients what they want. Such assumptions can then come back to haunt the organisations that went on to deliver projects which ultimately were not financially viable. In this case, I am confident that the figures provided are realistic and achievable. PSC were always professional, quick to respond and willing to make changes to drafts, some of which were quite significant.” Mike Cavanagh, Head of Cultural, Leisure, Tourism and Registration Services, Pembrokeshire County Council

View testimonials client have provided.

Trends Shaping the Sector

We operate in unpredictable times. Key trends shaping the tourism and wider visitor experience sectors include the climate and biodiversity emergencies, emerging technologies transforming the visitor experience and customer journey, shifting demographics, ongoing economic uncertainty affecting demand and visitor spend and wider geopolitical events

We can help ensure your organisation is ready to respond, turning these challenges into a platform for sustainable and appropriate growth.

Our Team

Our director and co-founder, Richard Linington, offers a personal, bespoke service and assembles the right team for each project. Our specialists span research, financial modelling, market analysis, engagement and primary research, and all aspects of operating visitor attractions and wider tourism businesses. Find out more about our team.

Get in Touch

If you’d like to discuss a project, large or small, contact us; we’d be happy to talk through how we can help.  Call or email Richard Linington on 07866 742628 or richard@pslplan.co.uk to talk through your project.