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Implicit in this assertion is that, for many European cities, culture is frequently cited as the key element of their urban tourism function. They do this to such an extent that cultural programmes have bee the catalyst for diversification and growth of visitor economies. Indeed, a number of cities for example, Glasgow, Dublin and Barcelona, have successfully constructed a coherent and authentic tourist destination image through investing in cultural tourism. In this respect, cultural tourism may be viewed as a transformational catalyst accelerating change. However, as an increasing number of urban places have developed strategies based around the utilisation of cultural resources as plementary factors in the petition for inward investment and tourist visitors, the cultural tourism market has, according to Richards and Wilson bee flooded with new cultural attractions. They also suggest that this type of market saturation has resulted in some cities and regions, particularly those that are not conventionally regarded as ‘cultural centres’, for example small and mediumsized industrial cities, struggling to promote themselves for tourism. This is essentially because their ability to create a unique, distinctive positioning has diminished.However, the highly visible use of culture as a mechanism for achieving wider economic and social goals remains high on the agenda for many urban regions in the UK. Cultureled urban regeneration continues to be positively highlighted by the government, as has been the case since Labour were elected in 1997 and instantly acknowledged both the regenerative role and value of investing in culture. Chris Smith, the ining minister for Culture at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), published his Creative Britain vision in 1998 in which he celebrated and discussed the impact of cultureled regeneration in the nation’s resurgence. DCMS subsequently published a 2004 report Culture at the heart of regeneration which explicitly stated that there was: ‘a(chǎn)n emerging body of evidence which suggests that culture is a key driver in the regeneration process.’ The report also highlighted the increased popularity of the European Capital of Culture programme which:‘saw Glasgow, for example, enhance its status as a tourist destination from a low baseline to one of the most visited cities in the UK.’ Following the relative success of Liverpool’s European Capital of Cul