Though the
Vital Signs report suggests Toronto needs to focus on its brand, the world sees our city differently. Toronto was named the eighth best city in the world based on the appeal of brand image, according to the bi-annual Anholt-GfK City Brands Index (CBISM), up five places from last year's ranking.
When it comes to friendly people, Toronto ranked second internationally with Sydney taking the lead. Toronto was ranked the fourth best city when it comes to feeling safe and the fifth best city (tied with Melbourne) when it comes to fitting in with culture.
In
an article that appeared in
Yahoo, Mark Keida, senior research director on the City Brands project, said Toronto scored well among Americans and people from India, the UK and France. But what held the city back from earning higher rankings was "its climate and lack of international buzz," the article says.
"Toronto is seen as a great place to move and live and make friends and get a job - as more of a long-term destination," says Keida in the article.
Here are the top 10 best cities as identified by brand:
1. London (2 in 2011)
2. Sydney (3)
3. Paris (1)
4. New York (4)
5. Rome (6)
6. Washington, DC (7)
7. Los Angeles (5)
8. Toronto (13)
9. Vienna (9)
10. Melbourne (8)
The Anholt-GfK Roper City Brands Index "measures the image of 50 cities based on more than 50 questions related to perceptions of their Presence, Place, Pre-requisite, People, Pulse and Potential," the survey data says. For the 2013 study, 5,144 people were interviewed from countries including Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Indie, Russia, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States. Data was collected online earlier this year from May 8-23.
Read the full report
here.
Original source: GFK