Paris Continues its Reign as Highest-Rated City -- GfK Data

NUREMBERG, Germany, Jan. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

• Sydney knocks New York off 3^rd place, while Melbourne jumps from 9^th to 7^th 
• Tokyo records greatest score gain of all 50 cities 

The latest Anholt-GfK City Brands Index^SM (CBI^SM) reveals that Paris retains its position at the top. For the fourth time since the survey began, the global public regards Paris as the highest rated out of 50 cities. Australian cities also show improvement: Sydney overtakes New York (4^th) to earn a spot back in the top three and Melbourne jumps to 7^th place, surpassing Amsterdam (8^th) and Berlin (10^th). These are some of the findings from CBI^SM, a biennial study conducted in September and October of 2017.  

The study evaluates the power and appeal of each city's image, providing a holistic and detailed perspective based on six key dimensions:

• Presence (the city's international status and standing)
• Place (its physical outdoors aspect and transport)
• Prerequisites (basic requirements, such as affordable accommodations and the standard of public amenities)
• People (friendliness, cultural diversity, how safe one feels)
• Pulse (interesting things to do)
• Potential (the economic and educational opportunities available).

CBI^SM also demonstrates the precariousness of cities resting on their nation's brand. A number of cities underperform their nation's standing as established in this year's Nation Brands Index^SM. Berlin is a prime example, just managing to hold onto a spot within the top-tier of cities. "This might be surprising given that Germany as a country took 1^st place in the 2017 Nation Brands Index rankings and boasted the most balanced image of all nations surveyed", Vadim Volos, senior vice president of Social and Strategic Research and head of CBI^SM at GfK, comments. "This shows that cities cannot rest on their nation's brand, they must cultivate their own unique images as well. "

Western cities tend to dominate the top half of cities, and in previous years, Western cities benefitted noticeably more than Eastern cities in the global public's estimations. 2017 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. After experiencing a score decline in 2013, Tokyo has rebuilt and grown its image in the two consecutive CBI^SM studies. Tokyo enjoys the greatest score gain of any city (+1.79) in 2017's CBI^SM to draw to a tie for 11^th position with Vancouver, surpassing Madrid, Barcelona, Washington D.C., Toronto, and Vienna.

Looking at CBI^SM's Middle Eastern and African regions, Dubai is the only city within this region measured that does not rest within the bottom tier of cities. Dubai falls narrowly outside the top half (27^th), with its Presence (15^th) and Place (16^th) rankings anchoring and propelling its image. Though Dubai is the city within the region with the best reputation, Durban wins the award for most improved (+1.51), which allows it to surpass Cairo.

For more information on CBI^SM 2017, please contact Vadim Volos at Vadim.Volos@gfk.com.

About the study  

The Anholt-GfK CBI^SM is run once every two years and measures the image of 50 cities with respect to Presence, Place, Prerequisites, People, Pulse, and Potential. For the 2017 study, 5,057 interviews were conducted across 10 countries (Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Russia, South Korea, UK, and USA), with at least 500 interviews per country. Adults aged 18 or over were interviewed online in each country. Using the most up-to-date online population parameters, the achieved sample in each country is weighted to reflect key demographic characteristics including age, gender, and education of the online population in that country. Fieldwork was conducted from 20 September to 3 October 2017.

The 50 cities ranked in the survey are as follows:

Western Europe: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Basel, Berlin, Brussels, Dublin, Edinburgh, Geneva, London, Madrid, Munich, Paris, Rome, Stockholm

Central/Eastern Europe: Istanbul, Moscow, Prague, Vienna, Warsaw

Asia Pacific: Auckland, Bangkok, Beijing, Hong Kong, Jakarta*, Melbourne, Mumbai, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo

North America: Boston*, Chicago, Dallas Fort Worth, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco*, Toronto, Vancouver*, Washington D.C.

Latin America: Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago de Chile*

Middle East/Africa: Cairo, Cape Town, Doha, Dubai, Durban, Johannesburg

*Cities new to the CBI^SM 2017 are denoted with an asterisk.

About Simon Anholt   

Simon Anholt is recognized as the world's leading authority on national image and identity. Professor Anholt was Vice-Chair of the UK Government's Public Diplomacy Board, and works as an independent policy advisor to the Heads of State and Heads of Government of more than 50 other countries. Anholt developed the concept of the Nation Brands Index^SM and the City Brands Index^SM in 2005.

About GfK   

GfK connects data and science. Innovative research solutions provide answers for key business questions around consumers, markets, brands and media - now and in the future. As a research and analytics partner, GfK promises its clients all over the world "Growth from Knowledge". For more information, please visit http://www.gfk.com or follow GfK on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GfK .