City Branding and multicultural studies: a study of the inhabitants' image of Cuernavaca, Mexico using a quantitative approach and online surveys

Abstract

Cuernavaca has always hold a positive image as a touristic destination and a good place to raise your children, however this has changed in the last decade. Drug war and corruption have made of Cuernavaca one of the most dangerous cities in Mexico. The local government has focused on trying to fix Cuernavaca's image for national and international tourists but has forgotten of its inhabitants. On this study we focused on this group: the people living in Cuernavaca for more than ten years and we found that the image hold by them and the image projected by the government are opposite. Here we present an insight of Cuernavaca's inhabitants thoughts and feelings regarding their city and how the government can use this information to work on better public policies so the projected and perceived image of Mexico internally and externally will be more positive and consistent.