What marketing strategy for destinations with a negative image?

Purpose This concluding article filters out meaningful marketing strategies that aim at re-positioning and re-establishing struggling tourism destinations with negative image. Drawing from a collection of case studies around the world, the article provides evidences from post-colonial, post-conflict and post-disaster destinations to finally anchor the overall conclusion of the theme issue. Design The article summarizes key issues faced by destinations plagued with a negative image and identifies adaptive marketing strategies based on existing marketing theories and success stories from struggling destinations. Findings Destinations with a negative image are mostly post-colonial, post-conflict or post disaster destinations (or all of the three combined), and despite their poor (if no) marketing strategies, they continue to struggle to find their share in the tourism market. The article highlights four main challenges of such destinations and proposes that adaptive marketing strategies can turn the situation of struggling destinations to a situation of emerging destinations. Marketing strategies that are cited in this theme are based on empirical evidences and they are: communication strategy, differentiation and promotion of responsible and health tourism, heritage tourism, cluster tourism and the involvement of DMOs. Originality/value The article takes a somewhat different approach and proposes adaptive marketing strategies for struggling destinations. These are based on the notion that consequences of not addressing destinations with negative image impact on established destinations which have to face threatening carrying capacity due to increasing number of visitors. The value of this article is that it draws from empirical evidences, each unique in their own right, and re-establishes post-colonial, post-conflict and post-disaster destinations, while highlighting their potentials and limiting factors.