Destination marketing and image repair during tourism crises: The case of Egypt

Egypt – a “must see” destination for generations of visitors - is considered to be one of the strongest tourism brands in the Middle East and tourism remains its dominant industry, accounting for 20% of its annual GDP. Over the past decades the country has suffered many crises such as wars, terrorist attacks, internal political tensions and violent changes in government. As can be expected, all of these were reported in the international media and had a negative effect on the flow of tourism into the country. By adopting the “multi-step model for altering place image,” this study includes qualitative content analysis of news reports, press interviews and relevant elements of advertising campaigns in order to uncover media policy, strategies, events and marketing initiatives used by Egyptian marketers and officials in order to restore a positive image of their country and bring back tourists after crises. The analysis shows that three types of strategies were used by Egyptian marketers to repair the country's image: source, message and audience; and a variety of other steps were also adopted.