Car park construction project at port reveals new profile of tourists

When you understand engineering and tailor it specifically, you truly mark out each project’s potential and field of action, as not only should this discipline put knowledge into practice, but also help make each project as profitable as possible.

Every day, project engineering consulting firms apply their services by studying and planning the most efficient way, on grounds of both quality and quantity, to undertake each project. However, few go that bit further and offer their clients multidisciplinary advice and much-needed business vision.

It is increasingly crucial to change traditional infrastructure design methods and adapt them to new market-relevant needs.

At Estudio7 we embrace this end-to-end engineering philosophy and base all our consultancy projects on the two-fold approach of engineering and business. An appropriate combination of both concepts fosters the optimisation, and consequently the profitability, of a project by viewing it as a business model. The idea is to monitor and measure results, wherever viable, in order to achieve the initial project goal. By monitoring we aim to guarantee the success of our products once in use.
As a result, investors get a better return. What’s more, value is added to the investment and maximum cost efficiency is achieved.

On this note, at Estudio7 we recently performed further works at one of our best-known projects: the port of Mogán. We were commissioned to build a new car park as part of a redevelopment and optimisation plan in the area of Mogán, a destination that lends itself to ongoing improvement.
At Estudio7, loyal to our business philosophy, we undertook not just the entire construction process, but also worked with all the information we had available to analyse business results and suggest improvements.

Therefore, we decided to study the impact of the new stretch of the GC-1 motorway to Mogán that opened in 2013.

Data showed us that the motorway has had a positive effect on visitor numbers to the area, as it has greatly improved access. Results were immediate, with a 14% increase in visitors within the very same year.

This, in theory, should have led to more clients for businesses in the Mogán area and therefore greater profits. However, to our surprise, data showed that despite there being more car park users in 2013, both the average stay and total time spent had actually reduced, which seriously affected revenue.

So what had happened?

With alarm bells ringing, and committed to making both the car park and the entire area more profitable, at Estudio 7 we proposed studying the general weaknesses on show. The figures below were identified and subsequent conclusions drawn:

• Tourist numbers to the area increased by 14% and car park users by 11%, yet the minutes sold decreased by 7%.
• 75% of visits are between Monday and Thursday.
• 66% of our visitors stay between one hour (38%) and two hours (28%).
• 60% of our visitors arrive between 10am and 2pm.
• 80% of clients stay less than 4 hours.
• 45% of overselling happens at 11 in the morning.

Basically, the study underlined the need to update the car park business plan, now more detailed and thorough, with a view to proposing new, more dynamic pricing strategies which ensure that full advantage is taken of the increase in users.

This intervention by Estudio 7 highlighted the value of the engineering+business mix, but above all proved to us that this type of consultancy, geared to the success of each product provided, is not just viable, but nigh on essential.