Barcelona is ranked eighth in the list of cities preferred by global talent

Nowadays, when moving abroad for work, where do people go, and why? According to the Decoding Global Talent report, Barcelona is the eighth most popular city in the world, and the fourth in Europe, having climbed one position in the ranking, compared to last year. London leads the Top 10, followed by Amsterdam, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, New York, Berlin, Singapore and Barcelona. Tokyo and Sydney come in behind the Catalan capital.

These are the conclusions reached by the Boston Consulting Group, which promoted the study, after having surveyed 150,000 people in 188 different countries. The report analyses the current dream destinations and mobility trends, classifying the world capitals that are in the minds of professional people.

The present and future of international mobility

One of the report’s major conclusions is that moving abroad for work is still a dream for many professional people, despite current geopolitical conflicts and changes in the way people work, which originated with phenomena like the pandemic and the rise of artificial intelligence.

According to the report, people mainly move abroad for financial and economic reasons, followed by furthering their careers and, in third place, improving the quality of their lives, including the advantages and services offered by their chosen destinations.

People who do not move abroad for work state that the main reasons for this include the impossibility of taking their family or partner with them, because they have strong emotional ties to their current country, and the cost of moving.

The report reveals that the professional people who move abroad expect the companies that hire them to provide support for their relocation and incorporation (especially in terms of paperwork for visas and finding accommodation), as well as fostering an international, inclusive workplace culture.

The study also recommends a joint strategy between authorities and companies, in order to facilitate the mobility of talented people. For example, it proposes improvements to the management of immigration and making the necessary paperwork easier, promoting the brand and positioning of the destination, focusing on jobs that cannot be covered by local professionals, and creating public-private collaboration for welcoming and integrating foreign professional people.