The Notting Hill Carnival

Introduction
The events industry has become an essential part of our culture today as Bowdin et al (2006, p.4) noted when he sated, ‘since the dawn of times, human beings have found ways to mark important events in their lives. Today, events are central to our culture as perhaps never before’. As a consequence countries are increasingly looking for ways to highlight their advantages in order to produce a variety of social, economic, environmental and cultural benefits that, in turn, reflect the area. Heritage and cultural tourism is a fast growing sector within the tourism industry with a rise in the number of tourists who look for culture, history and interaction with local people (Hollinshead, 1993). The multifaceted nature of urban tourism and the use of heritage and cultural events as a vehicle for its production, are both difficult when describing and interpreting them (Laws, 1998). Therefore the aim of this report is to address the implications and changes to the heritage and culture tourist industry and how this has impacted upon the execution of cultural events, especially the Notting Hill Carnival in London.
Heritage and Cultural Events
Major events can be an advantageous way with which to position a destination and all that it represents, promoting it to the world stage. It has been suggested that destinations have become a place product, with Selby (2004) indicating that cultural events are able to improve and create unique place products, a concept that is both attractive to the consumer and the producers. Major events around the world have been used as a means to raise destination image, boost their cultural offerings and benefitting the economy. The Liverpool European Capital of Culture attracted 9.7 million additional visits to the area, generating £753.8 million to the economy. It is estimated 2.6 million European and global visits were motivated by the Liverpool Capital of Culture in 2009, with 97% of these being first time visits to the city

Bibliography: Alleyne-Dettmers,P (1996) National Carnival Database. The Handbook: in celebration of Carnival. UK: Arts Council of England Publication. Barclay, A. (2011) Future of Notting Hill Carnival in Doubt. The Voice. [Online] Available from: http://www.voice-online.co.uk/article/future-notting-hill-carnival-doubt [Accessed: 06/01/2012] Benji, B Bentham, M. (2011) Curfew could save Notting Hill Carnival. London Evening Standard. [Online]. Available from: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/curfew-could-save-notting-hill-carnival-6432944.html [Accessed: 12/03/2012] Bowdin, G Bowdin, G. Allen, J. O’Toole, W. Harris, R. McDonnell, I. (2011) Events Management 3rd ed. Butterworth-Heinemann. Oxford. Bruner, E., (2005). Culture on Tour: Ethnographies of Travel. Chicago: The University of Chicago. Evans, G. (2003) Hard Branding the Cultural City: from Prado to Prada. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. 27 (2) Festivals and Events International Garcia, B. Melville, R. Tamsin, C. (2008) Impacts 08: European Capital of Culture Research Programme. [Online] Available from: http://www.liv.ac.uk/impacts08/Papers/Creating_an_Impact_-_web.pdf [Accessed: 07/02/2012] Getz, D Greater London Authority. (2004) Notting Hill Carnival: A Strategic Review. [Online] Available from: http://legacy.london.gov.uk/mayor/carnival/docs/review_final_rpt.pdf [Accessed: 02/01/2012] Greenwood, D., (1989) Hagoort, G. Thomassen, A. Kooyman, R. (2012) Pioneering Minds Worldwide. Eburon. Delft. Haider, D.H., Kotler, P., & Rein, I. (1993). Marketing Places: attracting investment, industry, and tourism to cities, states, and nations Hill, A. (2004) Campaign: Notting Hill Carnival rebuilds reputation. PR Week. [Online] Available from: http://hub.hku.hk/bitstream/10722/132076/1/FullText.pdf?accept=1 [Accessed: 08/2/2012] Jasper, L Laws, E. 1998 Conceptualizing Visitor Satisfaction Management in Heritage Settings: An Exploratory Blueprinting Analysis of Leeds Castle, Kent. Tourism Management 19:545–554. Lowenthal, D. (1998) The Heritage Crusade and the Spoils of History, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Mordue, T. (1999) Heartbeat Country: conflicting values, coinciding visions. Environment and Planning A, 31:926-946. Morgan, N. Pritchard, A. (1998) Tourism Promotion and Power cited in: Burns, P. (1998) Tourism and Visual Culture: Theories and Concepts. CABI. Oxfordshire. Muir, H. (2011) The importance of the Notting Hill Carnival. The Guardian. [Online] Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2011/aug/25/importance-notting-hill-carnival-riots?INTCMP=SRCH [Accessed: 12/03/2012] POLLARD J Richards, G. (1995). Production and Consumption of European Cultural Tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 22(2) 261-283 Richards, G Selby, M. (2004) Understanding Urban Tourism. Image, Culture, and Experience. I.B. Tauris, London. The Notting Hill Carnival. (2012) History. [Online] Available from: http://www.thenottinghillcarnival.com/history.html [Accessed: 10/02/2012] The Open University (2011) Notting Hill Carnival: The Challenges- Carnival and The Performance of Heritage Timothy, D.J. and Boyd, S.W. (2003) Heritage Tourism. Prentice Hall. Harlow Urry, J Wang, N. (2000) Tourism and Modernity: A Sociological Analysis. Pergamon. Amsterdam Woodrooffe, S (2012) Brand Carnival: Marketing  Mardi Gras from New Orleans to Rio Wright, P. (1985) On Living in an Old Country. The National Past in Contemporary Britain.Verso. London -------------------------------------------- [ 1 ]. Benji B (2011) Notting Hill Carnival Offers a Reflection. The Guardian [ 2 ] [ 3 ]. Pasca, S (2011) Challenges Carnival and The Performance of Heritage. [Video] [ 4 ] [ 5 ]. Holder, C (2011) Challenges Carnival and The Performance of Heritage. [Video] [ 6 ] [ 7 ]. GLA (2004) A Strategic Review