Destination image repair during crisis: Attracting tourism during the Arab Spring uprisings

•We aimed to uncover media strategies used during the Arab Spring to revive tourism.•We analyzed marketing initiatives, media policy, media strategies and campaigns.•The “multi-step model for altering place image” was adopted for the analysis.•Three types of strategies were used by marketers: source, message and audience.

The Arab Spring uprisings received intensive coverage and had a negative effect on tourism to the Middle East. This study aimed to uncover media strategies used by Middle Eastern countries' marketers to restore a positive image in times of change and challenge and to bring back tourists, by analyzing marketing initiatives, media policy, crisis communication techniques and the components of advertising campaigns. Integrating theory and practice, and adopting the “multi-step model for altering place image,” the study applied qualitative content analysis of advertisements, press interviews, and global tourism news websites. Three types of strategies were used by marketers to restore a positive image: source, message and audience.