Perth as appealing as Melbourne and Sydney: report

Perth’s inferiority complex is holding it back from potential growth and development, as it is viewed to be as appealing as Australia’s largest cities, a new report has found.

The findings come as part of Committee for Perth’s Hashtag Perth project, a two-year initiative that aims to develop a plan for how best to leverage Perth’s positive attributes and address its weaknesses.

According to the report, Perth residents are not likely to talk up the city’s positive attributes, even though it is viewed by outsiders to be just as appealing as Melbourne and Sydney and more appealing than Brisbane, Auckland and Singapore.

The independent research, which was conducted by Ipsos and sampled 2527 people in total, focused on Perth’s reputation among locals and people who live and work in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland and Singapore.

Committee for Perth chief executive Marion Fulker said the research sampled the general population from across these cities, asking them how they perceive Perth and their own city as a place to live, work, study, visit and invest.

 “It showed locals are not strong advocates for Perth – we enjoy living, working and studying here but we are slow to recommend it to others,” she said.

“This is despite the fact Perth’s reputation amongst those who have visited is very high.

“Singaporeans, for example, prefer Perth as a place to live, study, work, visit and invest over any other city.”

Perth’s most well-loved attribute, by both locals and visitors according to the report, is its natural environment and beauty.

This is the second piece of research from the Hashtag Perth project, with a final report and recommendations due to be released in late 2020.