India's Imagicaaworld bets on experience economy with $104 million expansion plan

Entertainment park operator Imagicaaworld plans to invest up ​to 10 billion rupees ($103.6 million) ​over the next five to six years to ​expand into major Indian cities as demand for leisure experiences rises, a top executive said.

The push would deepen Imagicaaworld Entertainment's presence in a market led by larger ‌rival Wonderla ⁠Holidays as ⁠spending on experiences is expected to outpace physical goods purchases through 2030, according to property consultancy CBRE.

"(Imagicaaworld plans) to go across India in all tier-1 cities to ​begin with," Managing Director Jai Malpani said, citing improving spending power and infrastructure in cities such as Bengaluru and Hyderabad, and the ​New Delhi metropolitan area.


The company, which operates amusement ⁠and theme ‌parks in western cities including Indore and Surat ​as well ​as Lonavala near Mumbai, plans to take its portfolio ⁠to 13 parks from nine.

The amusement parks sector in ​India is expected to reach $11.36 billion in revenue ​by 2033 from $6.96 billion in 2026, according to researcher and consultancy Grand View Research.

PRICE HIKES TO BOOST MARGINS

The expansion plan comes as the operator also looks to rebuild margins after a weak year.

Imagicaaworld plans to raise ticket prices by 5% to 8% in the ‌December quarter and cut discounts, seeking to offset higher electricity and labour costs after keeping prices largely steady in ​recent years, ​Malpani said.

The company expects ⁠fiscal 2027 revenue growth in the high single-digit to double-digit percentage range, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin "between 40 and ​43-odd percentage".

Revenue from operations fell 9% to 3.74 billion rupees in the last fiscal year, while EBITDA margin narrowed to 31% from 42.8%, as an early monsoon and the India-Pakistan conflict disrupted footfalls during the crucial summer season.