Middle Eastern Cities Gain Ground In Saffron’s City Brand Barometer 2022 On Tourism
Saffron, the global brand consultants behind Meta, YouTube, and city brands such as Vienna and London, releases its first tourism ‘City Brand Barometer’ post-pandemic.
- Abu Dhabi signals the rise of Middle Eastern city brands, leaping from a 2020 One to Watch to a Top 20 Challenger. Dubai remains strong in the Top 10.
- Riyadh and Jeddah debut with promising city brand assets.
Madrid, November 10 2022 – Saffron Brand Consultants has launched the City Tourism Brand Barometer 2022, a proprietary biannual study that measures which cities from around the world have the strongest brands to attract international tourism.
After the Business edition in 2021, the 2022 City Brand Barometer analyses the highly competitive post-pandemic landscape, and 104 of the most relevant cities to the global tourism industry. To define the strength of each city’s ‘tourism brand’ Saffron assessed their ‘buzz,’ or the perception of each city, and combined it with their ‘assets’ such as weather, cost, number of attractions, overall infrastructure and development. Breakout lists highlighted include the Top Ten, the Challengers, the Underperformers and the Ones to Watch.
In this latest report, Tokyo (#1) surpasses London (#2) and Paris (#3) for the first time to be ranked the strongest global tourism brand. Likewise, buzz-strong Abu Dhabi (#13) has solidified its assets score to ascend from a 2020 One to Watch to a Top 20 Challenger. Dubai maintains its position (#6) in the Top 10. Saudi Arabian cities Riyadh and Jeddah debut on the City Brand Barometer as Underperformers with weak buzz but strong assets. The rise of each of these Middle Eastern city brands is explored in the report’s featured case studies.
Alfredo Fraile, Chief Business Development Officer at Saffron, commented: “The Abu Dhabi city brand could continue its ascent with a higher buzz score. By solidifying its place in the global league of cultural capitals, the Abu Dhabi city brand could soon overtake Dubai.” Fraile also observed, “The debut of the Saudi cities should not be underestimated. The Kingdom is doing a huge amount to attract tourism, and Riyadh and Jeddah as cities to visit and to live in are a good reflection of how Vision 2030 is changing the nation.”
The results:
The Top 10:
These cities represent the strongest tourism city brands globally.
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Tokyo
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London
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Paris
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New York City
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Barcelona
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Dubai
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Singapore
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Amsterdam
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Madrid
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Rome
The Challengers:
These are the cities with great tourism brands that look set to challenge the Top 10 in the near future.
11. Sydney
12. Beijing
13. Abu Dhabi
14. San Francisco
15. Kyoto
16. Berlin
17. Vienna
18. Jaipur
19. Osaka
20. Bangkok
The Underperformers:
These cities are in the Top 20 for assets but have an average or low buzz score.
24. Fukuoka
31. Moscow
32. Brisbane
34. Riyadh
35. Seville
37. Prague
39. Antalya
47. Jeddah
48. Yokohama
50. Chiang Mai
The Ones to Watch:
These cities are the ones we believe will be making upward moves in our ranking in the near future due to the strength of their buzz.
21. Los Angeles
22. Vancouver
33. Miami
36. Cape Town
43. Atlanta
44. Hong Kong
51. Chicago
56. Toronto
59. Venice
65. Las Vegas