Feasibility Studies

A theme park feasibility study answers one question before money is spent: is this the right park for this land and this audience? Feasibility study consultants answer it with evidence rather than opinion.

A feasibility study is the first question a park project asks: what should be built here, and for whom? Mast Parks works as feasibility study consultants for park owners who have land, a building or an idea, but have not yet decided what the park should be. The study looks at the space, the location and the target audience, and then determines the most suitable park or concept for the area.

The study comes before money goes into design. A site that suits a water park may not suit an adventure park. A location with a strong family audience may need a different mix of rides from one that draws tourists. A feasibility study puts these questions on the table while changing the answer is still cheap, because nothing has been drawn or bought.

Feasibility Studies is the first service in the Concept and Planning stage of the 13 Mast Parks services. Every later service, from Financial Planning to Master Planning, starts from what the study decides.

The space

The study starts with the land or the building. It looks at what the site can hold, and what it cannot. The size, shape and surroundings of a site set limits on the park types that are realistic. This is why the same question, "can I build a park here?", has different answers for different sites.

The location and the catchment

The study looks at where the park sits and who can reach it. Mast Parks studies the catchment around the site and maps who lives there: what they spend on entertainment, what they prefer and how large the addressable market is. A park needs guests who can reach it, want what it offers and can afford it.

The target audience

The study defines who the park is for. A park for families with young children, a park for teenagers and young adults, and a park for pilgrims or tourists are three different parks, with different rides, different food, different opening hours and a different look. Deciding the audience early keeps the later work consistent.

The competition

The study includes competitor analysis. It looks at what already exists within reach of the site, so that the new park offers something the area does not already have.

The money

The study includes the return on investment (ROI), revenue projections and project costing. These give an owner a first picture of what the project needs and what it may earn. The detailed financial work then continues in Financial Planning.

The recommendation

The study ends with a recommendation: the most suitable park or concept for the area. This may be a theme park, a water park, an amusement park, an adventure park, a themed family entertainment centre, an ecological park, an experience centre or a spiritual park. Those are the eight park types Mast Parks covers.

To start, an owner brings what they know: where the land is, how large it is, and what they have in mind. Nothing more is needed to begin. If there is no idea yet, that is a normal starting point, because the study exists to find one.

In return, the owner receives a recommendation they can act on: which park or concept suits the site, who it is for, and a first view of the investment and the returns.

The study does not commit the owner to anything further. The owner can use the recommendation with Mast Parks, or take it to other advisers.

A feasibility study comes first: before the master plan, the design and the budget.

Feasibility studies are used by the people who commission parks: private landowners, existing park owners, family businesses, government and tourism bodies, and temples and religious trusts. Each arrives with a different starting point. A landowner may have an unused plot. An existing park owner may be deciding what to add. A temple trust may be weighing a visitor experience around a place of worship. A tourism body may be asking what a destination needs.

The same study applies to all eight park types, and it also feeds the park-type work. See the pages for water park consultants and amusement park consultants, which explain what the study checks for those two park types.

Mast Parks did the feasibility work for Jungle Adventures and a water park client.

Mast Parks has worked across the whole project path on parks, from concept to operations. Project pages that show that range include a Mast water park in Rajasthan, an indoor water park and amusement park in Rajasthan, and FEC Raipur, a themed family entertainment centre.

The feasibility study decides the direction. Financial Planning then tests the return on investment in detail. Concept Creation turns the chosen direction into an idea for the park, and Theme Development gives that idea a story, a look and mascots.

An owner who already knows what they want to build can still use the study to test the choice before committing. To discuss a feasibility study for your site, use the contact page.

A feasibility study is useful because it turns open questions into decisions. The questions below are the ones owners most often face at the start of a project, and the study is built to answer them.

• Should we build at all? The study tests whether the site, the audience and the numbers support a park, or whether the land would be better used another way.
• Which park type fits? The same plot can host a water park, an amusement park, an adventure park or something else. The study recommends the type that suits the area best.
• How big should the first phase be? The catchment and the revenue projection show how much park the market can support, which helps an owner decide how much to build first.
• What will the competition do to us? The competitor analysis shows what already exists nearby, so the new park can offer something different.
• What does the project cost, and what does it return? The ROI, the revenue projections and the project costing give a first answer, before design fees are spent.

Every one of these decisions is cheaper to make at the study stage than after drawings have been approved or construction has begun.

Skipping the study does not remove the questions. It moves them to a later and more expensive stage. A park designed before the audience is understood may offer attractions that the nearby population does not want. A park built without competitor analysis may open next to a similar park that is already established. A park costed without a revenue projection may be built to a size the market cannot fill.

None of these outcomes is certain, and a study cannot remove all risk. What it does is make the risks visible while the owner can still change the plan.

• Catchment. The area from which a park's guests are expected to come. Mast Parks studies it around the site.
• Socio-economic mapping. A map of the people in the catchment: how much they spend on entertainment, what they prefer and how large the addressable market is.
• Addressable target market. The part of the population the park can realistically serve.
• ROI (return on investment). The return the park earns compared with the money put in.
• Project costing. An estimate of what the project will cost to build and open.