Cultural Tourism in Newcastle UK as a Part of Urban Tourism - Research Paper Example

Cultural Tourism in Newcastle UK as a Part of Urban Tourism - Sequel Table of Contents Part1: Introduction 3 1 Key Rational Factors of the Study 3 1.2 Aims and Objectives of the Research 3 1.3 Structure of the Project 4 Part 2: Discussing the Contribution of Cultural aspects and Key Developmental Facts of Newcastle 5 2.1 Population or Community 5 2.2 Cultural Heritage 5 2.3 Urban Culture 6 Part 3: Literature Review 7 3.1 Role of Culture in Economic Revolution 7 3.2 Cultural Tourism of Newcastle and its Significance 8 3.3 Recommendations for Urbanization on the Cultural Tourism of Newcastle 9 3.4 Brief Summary of the Literature Review 11 Part 4: Research Methodology 12 4.1 Research Approach 12 4.2 Rationale of the Chosen Research Approach 12 4.3 Data Collection Process 13 4.4 Data Analysis Process 14 4.5 Limitations of the Research 14 Part 5: Results and Discussion 15 Part 6: Conclusion 27 References 29 Appendix 32 Questionnaire 32 Part1: Introduction Urban tourism has been recently identified to obtain major attention by providing exceptional experiences to the global visitors (Hall & Lew, 2009). Newcastle upon Tyne (Newcastle) is one of the renowned names in the UK enriched with its numbers of urbanised legacies that are effective for achieving the interests of the global visitors across the different regions (Raj & Vignali, 2010; Boniface & Fowler, 2002). 1.1 Key Rational Factors of the Study The key rational of this study is to explore the modernised view of Newcastle with its cultural aspects, which can play a crucial role for the city to obtain more attention of the global visitors. 1.2 Aims and Objectives of the Research Aim To explore if Newcastle has improved by its extensive development in urbanisation, or it is the tourism sector of the city is also influenced due to its exceptional cultural heritage Objectives To Identify and analyse the role of different cultural aspects responsible for improving the tourism sector of Newcastle Exploring the number of global visitors in different culturally adorned destinations within the city Demonstrating the role of culture towards the continuous development of the tourism sector of the city 1.3 Structure of the Project This study will comprise five chapters, including introduction, review of literature, research methodology, data analysis and discussion, and conclusion. Part 2: Discussing the Contribution of Cultural aspects and Key Developmental Facts of Newcastle Located at the North Western bank of the river Tyne, Newcastle has attracted the global visitors with its unique blend of urbanisation and cultural heritage (Liu & Lin, 2011; Burns & et. al., 2010). Few of the major cultural factors leading to the developments in the tourism sector of Newcastle have been briefly represented hereunder. 2.1 Population or Community As similar to the other regions in the UK, Newcastle is also defined for its unique culture that involves a mixed population from different parts of the world. Although majority of population (92%) are from Caucasian and non-Christianity backgrounds, but the mixture of people from different other nationalities such as Indian, Chinese, Jewish and Pakistani minorities often attract global visitors towards the place. 2.2 Cultural Heritage In relation to the roles of the cultural aspects, abundance of historical monuments including The Castle, Great North Museum in Hancock, Ravensworth Castle (Tyne and Wear), and The Church of St. Thomas – The Martyr among others have radically increased the number of visitors irrespective of their nationalities. The historical monuments such as Earl Grey’s Monument, the Old Castle Keep along with St. Nicholas Cathedral often reflect Newcastle as a city with multiple cultural aspects (Cameron & Coaffee). Moreover, renovation of Newcastle Quayside that combines the development of Gateshead since the past fifteen years is also witnessed to bring major flow of global tourists into Newcastle (Sacco & et. al., 2008). 2.3 Urban Culture Stunning nights with numerous ways of fun across the whole city can also be regarded as a unique cultural aspect in collecting wider attention of the global visitors (Cameron & Coaffee). The city is considered as one of the most visited destinations by the global tourists due to the unrivalled experience of nightlife, musical venues along with excellent theatre and art galleries. It is also regarded as one of the leading English metropolitan cities, which compacts numbers of nightclubs, pubs along with shopping centres, which are capable enough to grasp the attention of the global visitors (Miles, 2005). With this regard, the continuous urbanisation of Newcastle has also been recognised to play an essential role for the city to improve its tourism sector. The urban culture of the city has also radically influencing the overall development of Newcastle to obtain adequate economic growth. The annual numbers of visitors in the city have been observed to increase by 3% to more than 40 millions of tourists in the year 2009. The visitor expenditure across different locations of Newcastle has increased by 3% in the year 2009 as compared to the year 2008 (Smith & Richards, 2013). Additionally, cultural tourism in different locations of Newcastle contributed the total number of employment increase by 2% with 31,856 in 2009 as compared to the year 2008 (Burns & et. al., 2010). Part 3: Literature Review 3.1 Role of Culture in Economic Revolution According to Cameron & Coaffee (2005), culture is typically defined as a key determinant behind successful economic and environmental development of a particular nation or region (Cameron & Coaffee, 2005). With due regard to the above statement, Sacco & et. al. (2008) claimed that the term ‘culture’ is referred to an intangible factor, which is accustomed with sociability, shared values as well as meaning and knowledge of people residing within a particular society, state or a nation as well. With regards to the conception made by the above authors, it has perceived that the cultural aspects including identify or symbolic features of a particular society or region play an unprecedented role towards bringing a major wave of development. Moreover, it has also been recognized that the intangible factors such as shared values and meanings of the individuals as well as sociability of people within a particular region often lead to appropriate set of repository values that influence major growth of an economy (Sacco & et. al., 2008). Corresponding to the major types of determinants along with their pervasive role towards the growth of economy, the study made by Akerlof & Kranton (2000) also highlighted the value of culture towards evolving economic performance of the nations. According to an in-depth understanding of the study, the authors revealed that the cultural dimensions that are driven by the transitions throughout the decades have undergone major complexities, which further resulted to bring vast changes on the societies. Therefore, the mechanism of continuous transitions in the cultural and environmental factors has substantially enabled the post-industrial societies to substantially gain affluence. Hence, the cultural aspects are critically determined to have major role towards bringing the pace of industrialization and developing the economic and environmental conditions of the societies at large (Akerlof & Kranton, 2000). 3.2 Cultural Tourism of Newcastle and its Significance Corresponding to the remarkable growth of industrialization, tourism can also be duly considered as an important factor, playing an indispensable role towards developing the economy of a particular nation or region. In this regard, the notion of cultural tourism is identified to make affluent changes in the economies of the nations by attaining robust growth in terms of attracting the global visitors. In this regard, the findings revealed by Smith & Richards (2013) also detailed that the cultural industry located in different metropolitan areas had performed effectively to attain major financial growth in the year 2005 with a minimum or less amount of total expenditure that were capitalized to develop accommodation and leisure facilities for the visitors (Smith & Richards, 2013). More significantly, according to Stevenson & Mathews (2013), it has been further witnessed that the employment rate in the UK has taken a rapid pace during the year 2005. During that period, the cultural tourism sectors across different metropolitan areas in the UK evolved as one of the leading industries in terms of contributing towards national economy. The performance of the cultural aspects in these specific areas in the UK has further resulted to offer a major growth regarding the annual income of the cultural organizations (Stevenson & Mathews, 2013). In the context of the current cultural tourism, Miles (2005) has critically stated that the cultural heritage and identity often portrays as a set of major cultural aspects towards contributing major support in developing the UK’s economic performance. According to an in-depth understanding of the study, the author critically explored that the cultural heritage ranging from different locations accustomed by the palaces and monuments have long been recognised to play a pervasive role towards reenergising the overall potentials of the UK tourism industry (Miles, 2005). Besides, Girard & Nijkamp (2009) also stated that the sociability as well as the unique values of the local communities has long been playing a vital role for the UK to obtain major contribution from its tourism sector. In this context, the people along with their way of presenting the unique blend of cultural aspects are often recognised as few of the major factors leading to increase the value of cultural tourism in Newcastle (Girard & Nijkamp, 2009). 3.3 Recommendations for Urbanization on the Cultural Tourism of Newcastle The report of the Newcastle Gateshead Initiative (2013) detailed that the tourism destinations, especially the locations with valuable cultural aspects, have obtained major growth throughout the decades. In this regard, the continuous efforts made towards developing the cultural infrastructure of Newcastle substantially helped the local communities and people to obtain major economic growth. The study also revealed that the involvement of the local communities located in different areas across the river Tyne play a leading role towards conserving and representing their unique set of cultural aspects that are highly attracted by the global visitors (Newcastle Gateshead Initiative, 2013). Evans & Shaw (2006) stated in this regard that the year-round culture driven by world-class events and festivals based on the iconic destinations significantly enabled Newcastle to become a leading destination in cultural education and learning context (Evans & Shaw, 2006). In relation to an in-depth understanding of the report of Newcastle Gateshead Initiative (2009), it can be apparently observed that the rapid pace of urbanisation within the area not only boosted its economic conditions, but also enabled the region to regenerate its cultural heritage. According to Smith (2010), the primary aim of urbanisation should not only to refurbish the growth of economy, but also to influence major developments towards conserving cultural values along with identity of the cultural heritage located across different parts of Newcastle. In relation to the cultural context, the primary aim is to protect the cultural legacy of Newcastle through raising inspirations, energising creativity and encouraging self-integrity of the people in this respective destination (Smith, 2010). According to Buhalis & Law (2008), the local resources and cultural aspects of a particular tourism destination often lead towards attracting a group of well-informed visitors from different locations of the world. According to the research conducted by these authors, it has been perceived that the cultural legacies of the tourism sectors in Newcastle are few of the key influencing factors that grasp the attention of the global visitors (Buhalis & Law, 2008). According to an in-depth understanding of the research conducted by Ariwa & et. al. (2011), it can be found that there is a strong agreement regarding the statement that cultural resources are more likely to generate economic vitality through leveraging human capital along with respective cultures. In this regard, the process of generating economic vitality is therefore get influenced by evaluating unique sets of cultural tourism aspects along with crafts and cultural attractions. In this regard, it can be stated that the cultural legacies located across different destinations in Newcastle often lead towards raising the number of potential visitors and aiding in boosting the economic vitality of the societies at large (Ariwa & et. al., 2011). Corresponding to the crucial role of cultural tourism in economic vitality, Newman & Smith (2000) also critically revealed that the cultural events and local artistic programs across different culturally decorated tourism destinations significantly play a pivotal role for different communities. They are more often likely to restore or strengthen neighbourhoods or the local communities through serving as centrepiece regarding redevelopment of local or traditional culture. Similarly, Tornaghi (2005) identified that the cultural events and various types of traditional programs conducted across the river of Tyne often attracts the visitors by a considerable extent. Moreover, the persistence of extensive natural and exceptional amenities substantially improved the quality of urban life of the people residing within Newcastle. The consequences further resulted in expanding business opportunities along with tax revenue bases of the destinations and strengthening the community image ahead of the global visitors. Moreover, the cultural resources located across different parts of Newcastle or the river Tyne also contribute towards reforming an innovative habitat by making the developing communities more appealing towards extensively desirable skill-based individuals that permit flourishing new forms of intensive environment (Tornaghi, 2005). 3.4 Brief Summary of the Literature Review With due regards to an in-depth understanding from the literatures reviewed above, it can be found that the cultural tourism of Newcastle is regarded as one of the integrated parts of the region to regenerate its economic evolution. The extensive conservation of cultural legacies along with the cultural background of the localities has played a major role towards refurbishing the economic growth of Newcastle. In relation to the studies, it can be apparently observed that the unique blend of the cultural aspects of the local people especially their sociability and shared values have substantially reenergised Newcastle to emerge as a major urban destination for the global visitors. The studies assessed above claim that the continuous pace of urbanisation across the banks of river Tyne has made striving contribution towards conserving the unique cultural legacy and identify of Newcastle. Part 4: Research Methodology 4.1 Research Approach The conception of research approach generally defines about the methodology or a process, which is generally adopted to conduct a particular research. With regards to the specified aim and objectives of this particular research, a mixed research approach has been taken into concern. The concept of mixed research approach includes both qualitative and quantitative mechanisms of gathering and analysing data to determine the actual research aims and objectives. 4.2 Rationale of the Chosen Research Approach A mixed research approach basically focuses on determining the research questions based on a realistic concern or subject area. It involves realistic contextual understanding along with cultural influences that prove to be quite encouraging in determining the actual objectives and aims of a particular research subject area (Creswell, 2003). In addition, the nature of both qualitative and quantitative aspects can also be duly considered as one of the major techniques in the mixed research approach, which significantly provides major support to the researchers in critically examining realistic data and evaluating the same in accordance with the academic understandings and concepts (Axinn, 2006). Quantitative research, on the other hand, refers to an organised empirical assessment of social phenomena through statistical, numerical or computational methods. It tends to examine huge and representative types of data. Therefore, the selection of mixed approach in this particular research has been taken into concern for generating valid results with the incorporation of quantitative methods along with qualitative support (Creswell, 2003). With regards to the primary aim of the research, determining the role of cultural tourism towards the continuous development of Newcastle often requires collecting primary data. Moreover, this also requires putting much emphasis on the secondary research findings based on which the objectives of the research can be determined. In this regard, a mixed research approach has been selected in order to attain the primary aims and objectives of the research (National Institute of Health, n.d.). 4.3 Data Collection Process The data collection process of this particular research is typically based on a primary methodology of collecting feedback from the respondents with employing a questionnaire method. In order to obtain the primary data, the tourists prevailing across different cultural locations of Newcastle, irrespective of their age, gender and nationality background have been taken into concern as the respondents. The total sample size of this particular research survey is ascertained to be 50. In terms of participant observation method, relevant feedback from the tourists has been gathered across different cultural and urban tourism destinations. In order to gather relevant data in accordance with the key aims and objectives of the research, the survey in the form of participant observation was mainly conducted on separate days during day time. The places of collecting feedback from the tourists were included Theatre Royal, St Nicholas Cathedral, Hatton Gallery in King’s Road, Millennium Bridge and Live Theatre in Broad Chare Quayside Newcastle upon Tyne. The questionnaire developed especially for this research includes both open-ended and close-ended questions, wherein the respondents are provided with their individual preferences. Moreover, the enclosure of open-ended questions developed in the questionnaire will certainly aid in gathering appropriate results from the respondents in accordance with their personal opinion or idea. 4.4 Data Analysis Process Based on the primary aims and objectives framed for the research, a questionnaire analysis has been conducted in the form of participant observation by collecting valid information from the respondents irrespective of their age and nationality. The data analysis procedure in relation to the study includes conducting critical assessment of the raw data and identifying the actual results along with findings regarding each survey question. Moreover, the analysis process also took into concern critical assessment of different literatures in line with the key subject area of the research and evaluated the same them in accordance with the results obtained from the primary data. 4.5 Limitations of the Research One of the major limitations identified in this research is obtaining pertinent information regarding the key research questions along with the framed aims and objectives. Moreover, collecting relevant information from the visitors with adequate and clear feedback of the open-ended questions has also created complexities to determine the actual objectives of the research. Finally, procurement of relevant data from secondary sources and evaluation of the same with the realistic figures obtained from primary data is also recognised to create significant complexities in the research. Part 5: Results and Discussion The process of designing and employing a well-established questionnaire has certainly made a clear understanding about the respective subject matter of the research study, which is mainly concerned about the cultural tourism prevailing within Newcastle, in the UK. Moreover, evaluating questionnaire results with reviewing varied academic literatures has also provided a major support to the overall research work in determining the actual aims and objectives of the research. In order to critically research questions along with their definite objectives, the following assessment of customer feedbacks provides a detailed result of the research: Fig. 1: Freequency of Visiting Newcastle With regards to the first question as presented in the questionnaire (See Appendix), it can be perceived that a majority of the visitors i.e. 18 of total 50 respondents are likely to visit to Newcastle once in every two to three years. With reference to the aforesaid result, it can be perceived that most of the total visitors are more likely to visit Newcastle once in two to three years. Fig. 2: Major visiting parts of Newcastle that attract visitors According to the second question (see Appendix), the parts of the tourism aspect that mainly attract the people towards visiting Newcastle can be ascertained. Thus, in relation to the response obtained from the participation observation that 16 out of total 50 numbers are more likely towards visiting tourism destinations of Newcastle due to its cultural heritage. On the other hand, the historical places/monuments also attract the participants to visit the destinations of Newcastle. However, nightlife and urban development in the region have been witnessed to attract 11 and 8 participants respectively to visit the tourist destinations of Newcastle. Therefore, it can be stated that the cultural heritage along with historical places and monuments located in different parts of the city are the major tourism aspects that often attract the participants towards visiting such places. Fig. 3: Major cultural aspects influence by the urbanisation of Newcastle The results obtained from the third question (see Appendix) detailed that 16 of the total 50 respondents believe the cultural heritage of Newcastle is highly influenced by the urbanisation of the region. However, only 14 and 11 participants agreed to the fact that the local culture and the historical background of Newcastle are highly influenced by its emerging urbanisation. Therefore, it can be stated from the results obtained from the participant observation that the cultural heritage along with the local culture of the region is highly influenced by urbanisation. Fig. 4: Measuring whether or not the cultural tourism of Newcastle is overlooked by the government With regards to question number 5 (see Appendix), it can be apparently observed that 23 of the total 50 number of respondents did not agreed about the cultural tourism sector of Newcastle, whcih has been overloked by the government. On the other hand, 12 participants stated that the cultural tourism sector of the region is moderately overlooked by the government. With due regards to the results obtained from the analysis, it can be duly acepted that the government of Newcastle has been playing a major role towards improving the cultural tourism sector of the region. Fig. 5: Measuring whether the rapid growth of urbanisation lowers the cultural values of Newcastle According to the fifth question of the survey (see Appendix), 20 participants out of the 50 numbers strongly disagreed to the fact that the rapid growth of urbanisation has imposed negative impact on the cultural values of Newcastle. On the other hand, only 9 and 8 participants somewhat agreed and strongly agreed with regard to the above concern. In this context, it can be clearly identified that rapid growth of urbanisation has minimum or less impact in lowering the cultural values of Newcastle. However, the growth of continuous urbanisation in the region has been witnessed to conserve the actual identity of the region’s cultural aspects. In relation to question number 6 (see Appendix), the responses cannot be elaborated through a graphical illustration, rather the same has been portrayed in an elaborated manner. According to the results obtained, it can be found that 36 out of 50 respondents have provided their feedbacks. The key cultural values that are mostly accepted by the visitors in Newcastle have been briefly discussed in the form of the following graphical illustration: Fig. 6: Cultural values that attract visitors to Newcastle Unique Representation of Different Cultural Beliefs The feedback analysis of the respondents revealed that the visitors often get attracted with the unique representation of the communities surrounded across the banks of the river Tyne in Newcastle. In this regard, it can be stated that the communities and the people along with their unique cultural patterns have substantially attracted the global visitors. Therefore, it can be stated that the destinations across the different parts of Newcastle comprise the people from different nationalities and cultural backgrounds that significantly represents an irreplaceable blend that often attract global visitors to visit the region. Conservation and Representation of the Cultural Legacies The cultural legacies along with their effective development and maintenance have been apparently observed to achieve major attention of the global visitors. In relation to the feedback of the respondents, 12 of the total 36 feedback reports detailed about the existing cultural legacies of Newcastle that often attract them to visit to the place. Sociability and Belief of the Communities Nevertheless, sociability as well as the cultural beliefs of the communities and members has certainly attracted numerous global visitors to different culturally decorated places of Newcastle. According to the participant observation, 11 out of the total 36 members have specifically mentioned about the cultural identity of the communities surrounded the banks of Tyne in Newcastle. Fig. 7: Types of tourism factors insist visitors In relation to the question concerning the identification of the distinct types of tourism factors that insist visitors to visit Newcastle (see Appendix), it can be critically analysed that the notion of cultural tourism is more likely to influence the global visitors than the urban tourism of Newcastle. According to the obtained results, it can be perceived that 28 of the total 50 respondents are highly insisted by the cultural tourism of Newcastle. However, 22 of them are identified to influence by the urban tourism aspects of the region. Therefore, it can be stated that the cultural tourism of Newcastle is more likely to attract the global visitors than the growing pace of urban tourism of the region. Fig. 8: Key interests of the visitors in terms of selecting tourism destinations With regards to question number 7 (see Appendix), it can be asserted that 15 out of the total 50 respondents are likely to visit to Newcastle due to culture and/or religious purpose. However, the urban nightlife (13 amongst 50 respondents) and leisure (12 amongst 50 respondents) are identified as few of the major factors that insist global tourists to visit in the region. Therefore, it can be stated that the cultural heritage along with the existence of different religious aspects are more likely to attract global visitors to Newcastle as compared to nightlife, leisure and adventure. Fig. 9: Measuring whether shopping is the key objectyive of the visitors in Newcastle According to the question nunber 9 (see Appendix), it can be determined that shopping is not the only preference for the global tourists that make them to visit Newcastle. Owing to the statistical results obtained from the participant observation, 28 out of the total respondents strongly disagreed shopping as their key objective of visiting to the urban tourism sector of Newcastle. In relation to question 11 (see Appendix), the results of participant observation associated with this particular question provide a major understanding about the developmental goals required in the urban tourism sector of Newcastle. Few of the major developmental goals recommended by the visitors have been discussed in the following: Taking major initiatives and putting more emphasis on maintaining the cultural identity of the communities along with the cultural image of Newcastle Developing long-term strategic goals towards the protection of cultural heritage and legacy of key tourism destinations Fig. 10: Anaylisis of the Visitiors’ agreement regarding the cultural aspects of Newcastle According to question number 10 (see Appendix), 17 of the total 50 respondents have mentioned their complete agreement regarding the cultural aspects that often make themto visit Newcastle. However, 15 participants somewhat agreed regarding their purpose of visiting the region. In this regard, it has been quite evident that cultural aspects located across diferent places of Newcastle often lead towards attracting global viositors. Notwithstandingly, it can also be identified that the region has some other aspects such as urbanisation, nightlife and adventure that are often accepted as reasons influencing global tourists to visit Newcastle. Fig. 11: Analysing development of cultural aspects in Newcastle noticed by the visitors According to the participant observation, it can be ascertained that 21 out of the total 50 respondents are aware with the developments that have been made in Newcastle’s tourism industry. However, the developments have not been yet noticed by 16 respondents who have been considered in thes survey. In this regard, it can be stated that the developmental goals developed by the communities and governmental agencies significantly promoted the cultural legacy of Newcastle. In terms of analysing the feedback of the respondents regarding the impact of urban tourism development on Newcastle’s culture (see Appendix), it can be found that the continuous urbanisation in Newcastle has a significant impact on the cultural heritage of the region. However, a majority of the respondents strongly stated that the development in the tourism sector enabled the region to maintain its cultural legacy. Moreover, other respondents also stated that the rapid pace of urbanisation further facilitated the communities to conserve their cultural identity at large. In this regard, positive impacts can be witnessed that took place due to the urbanisation of tourism sector in Newcastle. Fig. 12: Measuring the feedback of the visitors in terms of recommending Newcastle to others The survey results also depicted that 31 of the total numbers of respondents agreed to recommend others for visiting the varied tourism destinations of Newcastle. In this context, it is quite evident that the factors concerning cultural heritage and identity of the communities provide a unique experience to the visitors. Moreover, the sociability as well as the cultural belief of the communities and people surrounding the areas of Newcastle can generate significant value to any visitor irrespective of their nationality or age. The respondents that have been included in the process of participant observation belong to different nationalities. According to the observation, it can be apparently identified that a majority of the respondents are from different parts of the UK such as Wales and Northern Ireland. Moreover, the other participants were identified to belong from various nations including the US, China and India. Therefore, the cultural and urban tourism aspects have major influence on the visitors irrespective of their nationalities. The respondents selected for the participant observation process belong to various age groups. However, a majority of the respondents i.e. 19 of 50 visitors can be found within the age group of 41 to 45 years. Moreover, 14 of the total number of respondents were identifed to remain under 26 to 40 years of age group. People above 45 years were also witnessed as a significant group of respondents in this survey. In this regard, it is evident that the cultural and urban tourism aspects simultaneously play a crucial role for Newcastle to attract visitors from various age groups. A clear representation of the respondents with their age groups has been provided hereunder. Fig. 13: Age groups analysis of the respondents Part 6: Conclusion The extensive growth of annual global visitors into these specific locations has certainly provided major support to the overall tourism sector of Newcastle in terms of developing its economy. The massive augmentation of the annual revenue has gradually fuelled the wave of urbanisation that has further witnessed to be a major part in New Castle. In addition, the study also revealed that the cultural aspects in Newcastle play a crucial role for this particular area in the form of making this region renowned as one of the most favourable urban tourism destinations in the UK. Irrespective of the key cultural aspects in different tourism areas of Newcastle, the continuous wave of urbanisation has significant influenced the development of the region’s cultural tourism. The prevailing cultural legacies have been one of the key attributes towards the development of tourism in Newcastle. Although, the city has undergone severe developmental changes with urbanisation, the cultural heritages have long been witnessed to provide major support in the rising economic performance of the city. According to the critical understanding of the literatures reviewed in the research, inspiring business confidence and developing individuals’ skills through cultural aspects are also few of the major aims of urbanisation within the region. Moreover, continuous promotion of the cultural legacy of Newcastle is also a major aim of urbanisation. In this context, it can be stated that the rapid pace of urbanisation often helped the region to gain attention of the global conference industry, raising the numbers of potential global viewers towards preserving the cultural heritage of Newcastle. The primary data collection process conducted in this particular research has provided mixed results due to the distinctive outcomes of the respondents in response to the questions. However, the results gathered from the process of participant observation have provided a major insight regarding the role of modern tourism business industry of Newcastle. Therefore, the role of cultural events or traditional programs in Newcastle has been recognised to be more effective not only to yield extensive economic outcomes of the local communities, but also to provide a major capitalising support to the urban areas of the region as well. References Akerlof, G. A. & Kranton, R. E., 2000. Economics and Identity. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol.115, pp. 715-753. Ariwa, E. & et. al., 2011. Cities of Culture and the Regeneration Game. London Journal of Tourism, Sport and Creative Industries, Vol. 5, No. 6, pp. 3-42. Axinn, W. G. & Pearce, L. D., 2006. Mixed methods data collection strategies. Cambridge University Press. Boniface, P. & Fowler, P., 2002. Heritage and Tourism in The Global Village. Routledge. Burns & et. al., 2010. Tourism and Visual Culture Methods and Cases. CABI. Buhalis, D. & Law, R., 2008. Progress in Information Technology and Tourism Management: 20 Years On and 10 Years after the Internet—the State of e-Tourism Research. Tourism Management. Vol. 29, pp. 609-623. Creswell, J. W., 2003. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Method Approaches. Sage. Cameron, S. & Coaffee, J., 2005. Art, Gentrification and Regeneration -- From Artist as Pioneer to Public Arts. European Journal of Housing Policy, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 39-58. Evans, G. & Shaw, P., 2006. Literature Review: Culture and Regeneration. Arts Research Digest, No. 37, pp. 1-11. Girard, L. F. & Nijkamp, P., 2009. Cultural Tourism and Sustainable Local Development. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Hall, C. M. & Lew, A. A., 2009. Understanding and Managing Tourism Impacts: An Integrated Approach. Routledge. Liu, Y. D. & Lin, C. F., 2011. The Development of Cultural Tourism: A Review of UK Experience. Tourismos: An International Multidisciplinary Journal of Tourism, Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 363-376. Miles, S., 2005. ‘Our Tyne’: Iconic Regeneration and the Revitalisation of Identity in NewcastleGateshead. Urban Studies, Vol. 5, No. 6, pp. 916-926. National Institute of Health, No Date. The Nature and Design of Mixed Methods Research. Mixed_Methods_Research. [Online] Available at: http://obssr.od.nih.gov/mixed_methods_research/pdf/Best_Practices_for_Mixed_Methods_Research_the_nature_and_design_of_mixed_methods_research.pdf [Accessed November 15, 2014]. NewcastleGateshead Initiative, 2013. Culture. What We Do. [Online]Available at: http://www.newcastlegateshead.com/corporate/what-we-do/culture [Accessed November 15, 2014]. Raj, R. & Vignali, C., 2010. Creating Local Experiences of Cultural Tourism Through Sustainable Festivals. European Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Recreation, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 51-67. Sacco, P. L. & et. al., 2008. Culture as an Engine of Local Development Processes: System-Wide Cultural Districts. Dipartimento delle Arti e del Disegno Industriale, pp. 1-55. Smith, M. & Richards, G., 2013. Routledge Handbook of Cultural Tourism. Routledge. Smith, S. L. J., 2010. The Discovery of Tourism. Emerald Group Publishing. Stevenson, D. & Mathews, A., 2013. Culture and the City: Creativity, Tourism, Leisure. Routledge. Tornaghi, C., 2005. Questioning the Social Aims of Public Art in Urban Regeneration Initiatives. The Case of Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead (UK). [Online] Available at: http://www.ncl.ac.uk/guru/assets/documents/EWP42.pdf [Accessed November 15, 2014]. Appendix Questionnaire 1. How often you visit to Newcastle? a. Once in a year b. Twice in a year c. Once in every two to three years d. First time visitor 2. Which part of the tourism aspect attracts you to visit New Castle? a. Cultural Heritage b. Urban Development c. Historical Places/Monuments d. Night-life 3. Being as a tourist, which cultural aspect do you think is influenced by the urbanisation of Newcastle? a. Local culture b. Historical background c. Cultural Heritage d. None 4. Is the cultural tourism sector of Newcastle is dramatically overlooked by the government? a. Yes b. No c. Moderately affected d. No Idea 5. The rapid growth of urbanisation significantly lowered the cultural values of Newcastle. Provide your views. a. Strongly Agree b. Somewhat Agree d. Strongly Disagree c. No Idea 6. Kindly mention three key cultural values that attract you to visit Newcastle. a. ……………………………………………………………… b. ……………………………………………………………… c. ……………………………………………………………… 7. What type of tourism factor insists you to visit different tourism destinations? a. Cultural tourism b. Urban tourism 8. What is your key interest in terms of selecting any particular tourist destination? a. Culture and/or Religious b. Leisure c. Night life d. Adventure 9. Is shopping is the key objective of visiting to the urban tourism sector of Newcastle? a. Yes b. No c. May be d. No comments 10. Would you like to recommend any developmental goal(s) needs to be adhered to promote cultural tourism of Newcastle? a.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... b.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 11. What level do you really agree that the cultural aspects often insist you to visit Newcastle? a. Completely agree b. agree c. Somewhat Agree d. Disagree 12. Have you noticed any development of the cultural aspects in Newcastle tourism industry? a. Yes b. No c. May be 13. How will you define that the urban tourism development has negative impact on the cultural sites of Newcastle? ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 14. Will you recommend anyone to visit Newcastle for its existing cultural tourism aspects? a. Yes b. No. c. May be 15. Which country or region are you from? ............................................................. 16. What is your specific age group? a. Below 25 year b. 26 to 40 years c. 41 to 45 years d. Above 45 years Read More