Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Box 36.1
Carlisle: dealing with peripherally
The city of Carlisle has attempted to turn its peripheral
location to its own advantage with its 'Great Border City'
campaign which emphasises past border conflicts and
has the intention of establishing its local distinctiveness.
Such a strategy may appear to be rather narrow and, for
example, to possess little that would attract significant
inward investors. The reality is that Carlisle city, unlike
some neighbouring areas, has little desire or need to
attract such investors, as they would be likely to have a
major destabilising effect on the local labour market.
However, adjacent areas, especially west Cumbria,
argue that their surplus labour problems would be
assisted by inward investment in the north of the county,
including Carlisle city and the city's strategy, based
largely on its own history, is a source of some conflict
with adjacent areas.
The major thrust of city marketing in Carlisle is to
attract more tourism and longer stays by tourists, hence
the prominence of history and the 'border' theme.
However, this marketing strategy has also created
internal tensions. Some local business groups concerned
with tourism, for example, local hoteliers, would prefer
the city authorities to adopt an image with a broader
appeal, the most popular option being the city's proximity
to Hadrian's Wall. Their argument is that to highlight the
latter in preference, to say, the Border Reivers, would
attract a much more international clientele. In response,
the city authorities point out that Hadrian's Wall is not
unique to Carlisle, while its location as a border city is
possibly shared only with the much smaller and distant
Berwick-upon-Tweed and that, in any case, the most
prominent tourist attractions' relating to Hadrian's Wall
are in Northumberland, not Cumbria. The city authorities
are also much more concerned to 'market' the city and
its heritage to local people and to enable them to
discover their own history. In their view, this requires an
authentic representation of history and one that is based
on the specifics of the place, rather than one that is
identified (or perhaps even invented) just to attract more
visitors and hopefully to make them stay longer.
Therefore, in following a quite specific and apparently
narrower marketing strategy, the city authorities in Carlisle
have a clear mission, one that is dedicated primarily to
local and internal needs and one that appears to be based
on an authentic interpretation of their locale. However, in
pursuing this mission, conflict has arisen both internally
and externally, conflict that, on the one hand, relates to an
'authenticity' versus 'marketability' debate and, on the
other, to the political rivalries that arise from the tensions
inherent in representing purely local, at the expense of
wider, regional, interests. Such tensions and conflicts are
not unique to Carlisle over the issue of city marketing.
Box 36.2
Malaga: dealing with the citizenry
The city of Malaga is best known as the location of the
airport that provides access to the tourist resorts of the
Costa del Sol. Yet the city authorities feel that they have
benefited little from the massive development of modern
tourism in this part of Andalusia. In order to capture and
maintain a larger share of this activity, the city council sought
to engage in a process of 'product development' within a
sustainable tourism context (Esteve Secall 1991; Barke and
Newton 1995). This approach was later incorporated within
a wide-ranging strategic plan for the city (Barke and Newton
1994). A central thrust of the promotion of a more
sustainable tourism policy and the strategic planning
approach was that the citizens of Malaga needed to feel a
sense of ownership of both, rediscover a sense of pride in
their city and, in a sense, become key agents of change
themselves (Granados Cabezas 1992). Thus the city
authorities have engaged in an extensive programme of
internal
marketing of tourism and broader planning policies,
but a process that also invites the fullest participation with
the intention of encouraging confidence and the possibility
of indigenous development.
This internal 'marketing' has a number of dimensions,
but among the most important have been a carefully
phased and publicised programme relating to the
development of the city's strategic plan and a series of
participatory mechanisms within that plan. The most
significant is the constitution of the General Assembly,
which is the main channel for citizen participation,
responsible for monitoring the guidelines and objectives
of the plan. This General Assembly consists of
representatives of 250 local organisations, ranging from
business groups, to members of various residential
neighbourhood organisations, cultural and special interest
groups and even gypsy organisations. Various strategic
working groups looking at specific issues must contain
representatives of the assembly, and 'experts' must present
their diagnoses of issues and problems in particular sectors
to this assembly for discussion and approval. Thus, in
addition to the usual publicity, attempting to raise awareness
and inform the public about the plan the 'planners' are, in
this case, accountable to wider representatives of the public
interest than the normal elected, political ones. The General
Assembly is more than a cosmetic acknowledgement of
democracy, because it is directly involved in the assessment
of alternative strategies.
This internal marketing has involved a substantial
additional range of activities, including public meetings,
street publicity and exhibitions, the participation of local
schools, a special publication
(Ojo a Malaga),
and the
full and enthusiastic participation of the local media. The
time, energy and cost of this internally directed activity is
justified by the chief coordinator of the strategic plan,
Vicente Granados, on the grounds that simply to promote
the city externally and ignore the local population is not
sustainable. The latter must feel that they are a part of
what is happening to their city and not peripheralised by
it. The concept of city marketing in Malaga has therefore
moved a long way from one that views the activity as
simply trying to attract more jobs or more tourists.
