Establishing a Cultural Quarter in Abu Dhabi, UAE Hamed Al Hamed The thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Portsmouth 2013 0 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Summary 1 1. An Introduction to the Concept of the Cultural Quarter 2 1. Background Information About Abu Dhabi (UAE) 5 1. Significance of the study 7 1.
Aims and Objectives 9 1. Layout of the thesis 13 1. Ethical Issues 18 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 21 Summary 21 2. A Brief Review on Cultural Quarters 22 CHAPTER 3 29 THE CASE STUDY 29 (Saadiyat Island Cultural Quarter, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) 29 Summary 29 3.
The Case Study: ABU DHABI 34 3. Saadiyat Island Cultural Quarter Development 38 CHAPTER 4: THE SURVEY INSTRUMENT 61 Summary: 61 The Survey Instrument 62 4. The Selection of Product Attributes 64 4. The Determination of Levels 67 4.1 Place of Production (origin) 68 4.
Number of Major (or Mega) Events 69 4. Level of Qualifications/Training 70 4. Marketing / Promotion Practices 76 4. Defining the Baseline (Status Quo) 79 4.
The Choice of Experimental Design 80 4. Pair – Wise Choices 85 4.7 The Discrete Choice Experiment Survey 88 4.8 Selection of the Survey Mode 90 4.1 Comparisons between SP Methods (Contingent Valuation versus Choice Modelling) 93 4. Theoretical Underpinnings of Discrete Choice Models 97 4. Lancaster Characteristics Approach (LCA) 98 4.
Random Utility Maximisation (RUM) Theory 102 i 4. Accounting for Heterogeneity 114 4. Mixed Multinomial Logit Model 114 4. Welfare Effects 118 CHAPTER 5: DESCRIPTIVE RESULTS 124 Summary: 124 DESCRIPTIVE RESULTS 125 Descriptive Analysis of the Sample 125 5.
Repeat versus First Time Visitors 127 5. Frequency of Visit among Repeat Visitors 127 5. Location of Holiday Residence 128 5. Purpose of Visit to Abu Dhabi 129 5.
Significance of Culture 130 5. Place of Residence 131 5. Repeat versus First Time Visitors 134 5. Attitudes to Culture/Cultural Resources and Frequency of Visitation 135 5.
Attitudes to Culture/Cultural Resources and Place of Holiday Stay 136 5. Attitudes to Culture/Cultural Resources and Length of Stay 138 5. Attitudes to Culture/Cultural Resources and Purpose of Visit 139 5. Attitudes to Culture/Cultural Resources and Place of Residence 140 5.
Attitudes to Culture/Cultural Resources and Socio-Demographic Attributes 142 5. Cultural Capital and patterns of visitation 144 5. Cultural Capital and place of residence (normal and during holidays) 145 5. Cultural Capital and Purpose of Visit 147 5.
Cultural Capital and Length of Stay 148 5. Cultural Capital and Individual Characteristics 149 5. Place of Production (Origin) * Potential Visitors 151 No indication of place of production 151 Produced in the UAE 152 Produced in Saadyiat Island 152 Imported 153 5. Number of Major Events * Potential Visitors 155 5.
Level of Qualifications * Potential Visitors 158 5. Waiting Time * Potential Visitors 161 5. Linkages * Potential Visitors 164 5. Marketing/Promotion * Potential Visitors 168 CHAPTER 6: ECONOMETRIC RESULTS 170 Summary: 170 6.
The Homogeneous Multinomial Logit (MNL) Model Specification 171 6. The Heterogeneous Mixed Multinomial Logit (MMNL) Model Specification 179 6. The Selection of the random parameters 180 6. The Selection of the Distribution of the Randomly Varied Attributes 181 ii 6.
Allowing for Correlation through Flexible MMNL Models 183 6. Simulation of Maximum Likelihood 184 6. Correlation between attributes 194 CHAPTER 7: AN ANALYSIS OF CULTURAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP 199 Summary: 199 7. Motivation and Contribution 202 7.
Relative Risk Ratio (RRR) Analysis 216 Policy Implications 220 CHAPTER 8: POLICY IMPLICATIONS 227 8. Analysis of the Descriptive Empirical results (Homogeneous Preference Specification) 228 Cross Tabulations 228 8. Combined SP and RP information 233 8. Analysis of the Econometric Results 242 8.
Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Preference Specification 243 CHAPTER 9 247 Summary and Conclusions 247 9. Summarising the Discussion 248 9. Concluding the Discussion 251 9. Limitations of the Study 252 9.
Areas of Future Research 252 REFERENCES 254 iii LIST OF TABLES Table 4. Product Attributes and their levels 67 Table 4. The design of a Factorial Design 82 Table 4. Comparision of Alternative Survey Methods 91 Table 4.
How Discrete Choice Data Entered the Spreadsheet 93 Table 5. Sample Frequencies (%) 126 Table 5. Place of Production (origin)*Visitor Characteristics 153 Table 5. Number of Major events*Visitor Characteristics 156 Table 5.
Level of Qualification*Visitor Characteristics 159 Table 5. Waiting Time*Visitor Characteristics 162 Table 5. Linkages*Visitor Characteristics 166 Table 5. Marketing/Promotion*Visitor Characteristics 168 Table 6.
Results of the Binomial Logit Specification 172 Table 6. Marginal effects from the Binomial Logit Specification 174 Table 6. Marginal WTP estimates from the Binomial Logit Specification 176 Table 6. Results from the (heterogeneous) MMNL Logit Specification 187 Table 6.
Correlated Normally Distributed MMNL Product Attributes 194 Table 6. Marginal WTP estimates from the MMNL Model Specification 197 iv Table 7. Results of the Multinomial Logit Model: Significance of Culture from First Time Visitors 208 Table 7. Results of the Multinomial Logit Model: Significance of Culture from Repeat Visitors 210 Table 8.
Summary Derived from Empirical Results 228 Table 8. Positive Preferences from the Cross – Tabulation Exercises 234-235 Table 8. Negative Preferences from the Cross – Tabulation Exercises 236-237 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 3. The Administrative Map of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) 39 Figure 3.
The Saadiyat Island Cultural Quarter 44 Figure 3. A Combination of Strategies for Comparative Advantage 51 Figure 4. An example of a Choice Set in a Choice Experiments 87 Figure 4. Classification of Stated Preferences Economic Valuation Techniques 94 Figure 4.
An Individual’s Choice Regarding Heritage Tourism Visitation 108 Figure 4. The Discrete Choice Probability 113 Figure 4. Basic Consumer Choice Theory 121 Figure 5. First Time and Repeat Visitors to Abu Dhabi 127 Figure 5.
Frequency of Repeat Visitors – Abu Dhabi 128 Figure 5. Location of Holiday Residence 129 Figure 5. Purpose of Visit to Abu Dhabi 130 Figure 5. The Significance of Native Culture 131 Figure 5.
Place of Residence 132 Figure 5. Repeat vs First Time Visitors by Attributes towards Culture 135 Figure 5. Attitudes to Culture and Frequency of Visitation 136 Figure 5. Attitudes to Culture and Place of Holiday Residence 137 Figure 5.
Attitudes to Culture and Length of Stay 138 Figure 5. Attitudes to Culture and Purpose of Visit 140 vi Figure 5. Attitudes to Culture and Place of Residence 142 Figure 5. Attitudes to Culture and Socio-Demographic Attitudes 144 Figure 5.
Cultural Capital and Pattern of Visitation 145 Figure 5. Cultural Capital and Place of Residence 146 Figure 5. Cultural Capital and Purpose of Visit 148 Figure 5. Cultural Capital and Length of Stay 149 Figure 5.
Cultural Capital and Socio-Demographic Variables 150 vii Acknowledgements First of all, thank you to Almighty Allah for helping me with this work. It has been a long but enjoyable journey. Few years ago, it seemed a distant possibility of completing a research thesis. Here I am submitting a thesis which has been dear to my heart.
This work would have not been possible without the patience, good guidance and right direction by my supervisors Prof Shabbar Jaffry and Dr Alex Apostolakis. My special thanks go to my first supervisor Professor Jaffry for all his encouragements and guidance during the various stages of this work. I owe my thanks to my late father Sheikh Ahmed Bin Hamed and my beloved mother for all their encouragements to pursue this research. Their constant encouragement has helped me to achieve my dream.
How can I forget my dear wife on this occasion: without her support and understanding it would not have been possible for me to complete this project. My children have at times suffered due to me focusing on my research and neglecting their welfare. Their love and affection provided me all the help I needed during some long months of working on this project. University of Portsmouth, UK Hamed Al Hamed viii DECLARATION “While registered as a candidate for the above degree, I have not been registered for any other research award.
The results and conclusions embodied in this thesis are the work of the named candidate and have not been submitted for any other academic award” ix Abstract The main argument driving the thesis; namely the fact that the literature is treating cultural quarter development as mainly originating from the supply side with limited attention to the demand side (e., consumers’/visitors’ preferences and tastes for prospective developments in the cultural scene). Thus, the analysis argues that more attention should be placed upon cultural quarter establishment, as opposed to cultural quarter production. For this purpose, the thesis engages into a quest to reveal individual preferences for future policy initiatives in the area. The thesis considers the case study, namely the proposed cultural quarter development in Saadiyat Island, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
It provides a background on Abu Dhabi, the reason for focusing on cultural tourism, the Saadiyat island development and the planned activities and cultural infrastructure to appear on the island. The thesis also considers the rationale behind the project (i., diversification of the Emirate’s economy) as well as the potential criticism that may arise (has risen as a result of this policy initiative) in the literature. The main argument in favour of this policy initiative is the diversification of the mono-culture nature of the domestic economy, whereas the main argument against such an initiative is that it will appear as an ‘elitist’ development not catering for native culture and tradition, thus failing to relate to native customs and cultural heritage. We argue that this issue will also have negative repercussions for the sustainability of the cultural quarter if not addressed properly from policy makers.
x The first part of the discussion in Chapter 4 is devoted to the survey method, the selection of the product attributes to be used in the choice experiment and the rationale behind them. In other words, we try to provide some sort of justification for the component parts of the methodology, namely stated preferences discrete choice model. This is a standard procedure that has been followed in the literature over other similar applications of the methodology in relevant settings. The analysis in this first part of the discussion also makes an effort to justify the self-completion mode that was chosen for the survey instrument, over other common practice questionnaire filling techniques.
Chapter 5 deals with the specific research methodology; namely stated preferences discrete choice modeling (SPDCM). In particular, this section of the discussion considers the various economic valuation techniques and contrasts SPDCM with contingent valuation methodology (CVM). Then, the analysis considers the economic and the econometric underpinnings of the SPDCM methodology (RUM, LCA and decision making theories) and concludes with the theoretical analysis of the welfare effects derived from the SPDCM approach. The descriptive analysis part of the thesis is split into two parts.
The first part of the analysis considers: frequencies of the sample population and further segments the sample population into groups (cross – tabulations). Further we combine respondents’ attributes and characteristics (revealed preference data), with their preferences for the various attributes and their levels/configurations used in the choice experiment (stated xi preference data). In this way, the thesis tries to combine the various sources of data (revealed – stated) in order to explain individual preferences and potential variation among the sample population. The section empirical econometric results derived from the SPDCM experiment are presented.
In particular, the analysis is split into three major sub-sections. In the first sub-section, the analysis considers the empirical results derived from the homogenous preference multinomial logit analysis (MNL). The empirical results are summarized through 3 main tables (beta coefficients, marginal effects, and marginal willingness to pay (MWTP) estimates. Sub – section 2 of the analysis considers the heterogeneous preference multinomial logit model or mixed logit (MMNL) model.
According to the discussion in previous sections of the discussion, the MMNL specification is the most flexible preference specification and offers more credibility and depth in the discussion.