The annual Bloom Consulting Portugal City Brand Ranking, is based on quantitative data (official statistics, online surveys, Internet page performance and social networks of the municipalities) “which classify the performance of the brands of the 308 Portuguese municipalities”.

An algorithm generates a general ranking that results from the weighting of three other rankings, which assess municipalities across three criteria: living, visiting and doing business (investment attraction).

Lisbon and Porto lead this year's overall ranking and also top the three other areas according to Bloom Consulting.

In the analysis of the best municipalities to live in, the top 5 are, in addition to Lisbon and Porto, Coimbra, Braga and Viseu.

In tourism, the municipalities with the best classification are Lisbon, Porto, Funchal, Cascais and Portimão.

In business, Cascais, Vila Nova de Gaia and Coimbra follow Lisbon and Porto.

In the general ranking that takes into account all these aspects are Lisbon, Porto, Cascais, Braga and Coimbra, the same 'top 5' as the previous study, published in 2019.

This year, the consultancy carried out a specific study on the impact of Covid-19 “in attracting tourism, investment and talent” by municipalities.

“It is essential to bear in mind that the future will not be a copy of the pre-pandemic past”, the study reads.

According to the study: “In addition to managing the pandemic, citizens from the north to the south of the country show a unified voice in relation to new priorities [which were not so relevant before the appearance of Covid-19] that they would like to see implemented in the their municipalities” and “the first is related to access to quality health care in their municipalities, followed by the implementation of safety and hygiene programmes in schools and workplaces and the reduction of crowds in public spaces”.

The study concluded that a new trend of “urban exodus” has emerged, with about 73 percent of respondents still revealing the desire not to return to a 100 percent face-to-face work, while75 percent said they intend to travel exclusively to national destinations for their next holiday.