Paris and London ‘still the world’s most appealing cities’
Which city do you find most appealing? A recent report suggests Paris and London remain the most attractive cities to live in, while Sydney and New York follow in third and fourth respectively.
30 January 2018Paris and London continue to occupy the top two spots in the 2017 City Brands Index, which assesses the appeal of 50 cities worldwide.
Related stories:
1. Paris (1)
2. London (2)
3. Sydney (4)
4. New York (3)
5. Los Angeles (5)
6. Rome (6)
7. Melbourne (9)
8. Amsterdam (8)
9. San Francisco (n/a)
10. Berlin (7)* The index was based on 5,057 interviews conducted in September and October last year in Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Russia, South Korea, UK and US.
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Which cities appeal most?
The main movements up the top 10 in the index – which is compiled every two years by global market research firm GfK – both involve Australian cities, with Sydney overtaking New York to claim third place with Melbourne jumping from ninth to seventh.But it was Tokyo that recorded the greatest score gain of all 50 cities, overtaking Madrid, Barcelona, Washington DC, Toronto and Vienna to share 11th spot with Vancouver.Devised by Simon Anholt, an adviser to more than 50 governments and founder of the Good Country movement to improve the culture of governance worldwide, the index is based on thousands of interviews worldwide on respondents’ perceptions of leading cities.The study evaluates each city’s image on six elements: its international status; physical aspects and transport; requirements such as affordable accommodations and public amenities; friendliness of its people, cultural diversity and personal safety; interesting things to do; and the economic and educational opportunities available.Related stories:
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Western cities dominate rankings
GfK said, “Western cities tend to dominate the top half of cities. As in previous years, Western cities benefited noticeably more than Eastern cities in the global public’s estimations.“The 2017 index shows a change in fortunes with marked improvement for many that is not constrained by region or developmental stage. For example, Tokyo is one of only a handful of non-Western cities that resides within the top half of cities.”In the Middle East and African regions, Dubai in 27th place is the only city to make it into the top 30. “Though Dubai is the city within the region with the best reputation, Durban wins the award for most improved, which allows it to surpass Cairo,” said GfK.Cities failing to live up to potential
The company, which is headquartered in Germany, said the latest index demonstrateed the precariousness of individual cities resting on the laurels of their nation’s brand, with a number underperforming the rankings achieved by their countries in GfK’s Nation Brands Index.Berlin is a prime example, according to Vadim Volos, senior vice-president at GfK, who pointed out the city had dropped down the table and only just managed to stay in the top 10.“This might be surprising given that Germany as a country took first place in the 2017 Nation Brands Index rankings and boasted the most balanced image of all nations surveyed,” he said. “This shows that cities cannot rest on their nation’s brand – they must cultivate their own unique images as well.”GfK City Brands Index top 10 (2015 rankings in brackets):1. Paris (1)
2. London (2)
3. Sydney (4)
4. New York (3)
5. Los Angeles (5)
6. Rome (6)
7. Melbourne (9)
8. Amsterdam (8)
9. San Francisco (n/a)
10. Berlin (7)* The index was based on 5,057 interviews conducted in September and October last year in Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Russia, South Korea, UK and US.
For related news and features, visit our International Assignments section. Look out for the launch of 2018’s Relocate Awards, entry is now open. Relocate’s new Global Mobility Toolkit provides free information, practical advice and support for HR, global mobility managers and global teams operating overseas.
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