Bibliometric Analysis and Literature Review of Mountain Tourism

Abstract

In recent years, the adventure-seeking behaviour of tourists has increased the consumption of mountain tourism. The research on mountain tourism, however, is fragmented, highlighting the gaps in the current literature. This study uses bibliometric analysis to summarise the literature from 1462 articles published on mountain tourism between 1982 to 2022. The study uses bibliographic data to carry out descriptive and network analysis. The co-authorship network is used to highlight the impactful contributors to mountain tourism research. Further, keyword co-occurrence and bibliographic coupling networks helped in identifying the economic development, nature conservation and preservation, climate change and future of mountain tourism, and tourist satisfaction and marketing as the themes in the mountain tourism research. The content analysis of these clusters delivers insight into past research and suggests research for future avenues. The study offers advantages to the researchers and practitioners by suggesting future research avenues and policy actions.

Keywords

• mountain tourism
• bibliometrics
• climate change
• rural development
• sustainability

References

1. Abrudan, I., & Turnock, D. (1998). A rural development strategy for the Apuseni Mountains, Romania. GeoJournal, 46(3), 319–336. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006937023451
2. Ali, A. (2020). Residents’ attitude and perception toward impact of mountain tourism in GilgitBaltistan Pakistan. Journal of Public Affairs, e2577. https://doi.org/10.1002/PA.2577
3. Araújo, A., Cardoso, L., Araújo, N., & Dias, F. (2019). Understanding the role of destination imagery in mountain destination choice. Evidence from an exploratory research. European Journal of Tourism Research, 22, 151–165. https://doi.org/10.54055/EJTR.V22I.381
4. Barbhuiya, M. R. (2021). Overtourism in Indian cities: a case study of Nainital. International Journal of Tourism Cities, 7(3), 702–724. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJTC-08-2019-0148/FULL/XML
5. Bastian, M., Heymann, S., & Jacomy, M. (2009). Gephi : An open source software for exploring and manipulating networks visualization and exploration of large graphs. International AAAI Conference on Weblogs and Social Media. https://gephi.org/publications/gephi-bastianfeb09.pdf
6. Bhalla, P., Bhattacharya, P., Areendran, G., & Raj, K. (2020). Ecotourism spatio-temporal models to identify visitation patterns across the Indian Himalayan Region. GeoJournal, 87(3), 1777– 1792. https://doi.org/10.1007/S10708-020-10336-8
7. Bigné, E., Zanfardini, M., & Andreu, L. (2020). How online reviews of destination responsibility influence tourists’ evaluations: an exploratory study of mountain tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 28(5), 686–704. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2019.1699565
8. Blondel, V. D., Guillaume, J.-L., Lambiotte, R., & Lefebvre, E. (2008). Fast unfolding of communities in large networks. Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment, 10, P10008. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-5468/2008/10/P10008

9. Bourdeau, P., Corneloup, J., & Mao, P. (2010). Adventure sports and tourism in the French mountains: Dynamics of change and challenges for sustainable development. Current Issues in Tourism, 5(1), 22–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500208667905
10. Brătucu, G., Băltescu, C. A., Neacşu, N. A., Boşcor, D., Ţierean, O. M., & Madar, A. (2017). Approaching the Sustainable development practices in mountain tourism in the Romanian Carpathians. Sustainability, 9(11), 2051. https://doi.org/10.3390/SU9112051
11. Brida, J. G., Disegna, M., & Osti, L. (2011). Residents’ perceptions of tourism impacts and attitudes towards tourism policies in a small mountain community. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/SSRN.1839244
12. Brin, S., & Page, L. (1998). The anatomy of a large-scale hypertextual web search engine. The Seventh International Conference on the World Wide Web (WWW1998), 30, 107–117. http://www.yahoo.com
13. Buning, R. J., & Lamont, M. (2020). Mountain bike tourism economic impacts: A critical analysis of academic and practitioner studies: Tourism Economics, 27(3), 500–509. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354816620901955
14. Chakraborty, P., & Ghosal, S. (2022). Status of mountain-tourism and research in the Indian Himalayan Region: a systematic review. Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science 2022, 1–35. https://doi.org/10.1007/S41685-022-00243-W
15. Dabrowski, P. M. (2005). “Discovering” the Galician borderlands: The case of the Eastern Carpathians. Slavic Review, 64(2), 380–402. https://doi.org/10.2307/3649989
16. Dangi, T. B., & Gribb, W. J. (2018). Sustainable ecotourism management and visitor experiences: managing conflicting perspectives in Rocky Mountain National Park, USA. Journal of Ecotourism, 17(3), 338–358. https://doi.org/10.1080/14724049.2018.1502250
17. Danzi, L., & Figini, P. (2022). The tourism economics of marginal and mature mountains. The case of the Regional Park of Corno alle Scale (Apennines), Italy. Current Issues in Tourism. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2022.2038092
18. de Granda-Orive, J. I., Alonso-Arroyo, A., & Roig-Vázquez, F. (2011). Which data base should we use for our literature analysis? Web of Science versus SCOPUS. Archivos de Bronconeumologia, 47(4), 213. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ARBRES.2010.10.007
19. del Río-Rama, M. de la C., Maldonado-Erazo, C. P., Durán-Sánchez, A., & Álvarez-García, J. (2019). Mountain tourism research. A review. European Journal of Tourism Research, 22, 130–150.
20. Dornier, R., & Mauri, C. (2018). Overview: tourism sustainability in the Alpine region: the major trends and challenges. Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, 10(2), 136–139. https://doi.org/10.1108/WHATT-12-2017-0078/FULL/XML
21. Dunets, A. N., Yankovskaya, V. V., Plisova, A. B., Mikhailova, M. V., Vakhrushev, I. B., & Aleshko, R. A. (2020). Health tourism in low mountains: A case study. Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, 7(3), 2213–2227. https://doi.org/10.9770/JESI.2020.7.3(50)
22. Falagas, M. E., Pitsouni, E. I., Malietzis, G. A., & Pappas, G. (2008). Comparison of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar: strengths and weaknesses. The FASEB Journal, 22(2), 338–342. https://doi.org/10.1096/FJ.07-9492LSF
23. Fredman, P. (2008). Determinants of visitor expenditures in mountain tourism. Tourism Economics, 14(2), 297–311. https://doi.org/10.5367/000000008784460418
24. Fuchs, M., Peters, M., & Weiermair, K. (2015). Tourism sustainability through destination benchmarking indicator systems: The case of Alpine tourism. Tourism Recreation Research, 27(3), 21–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2002.11081371
25. Gardner, J. S., & Sinclair, A. J. (2011). Evaluation of capacity and policy development for environmental sustainability: A case from Himachal Pradesh, India. Canadian Journal of Development Studies, 24(1), 137–153. https://doi.org/10.1080/02255189.2003.9668901
26. Geneletti, D., & Dawa, D. (2009). Environmental impact assessment of mountain tourism in developing regions: A study in Ladakh, Indian Himalaya. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 29(4), 229–242. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.EIAR.2009.01.003
27. Gilani, H. R., Innes, J. L., & De Grave, A. (2018). The effects of seasonal business diversification of British Columbia ski resorts on forest management. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 23, 51–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JORT.2018.07.005
28. Gill, A., & Williams, P. (1994). Managing growth in mountain tourism communities. Tourism Management, 15(3), 212–220. https://doi.org/10.1016/0261-5177(94)90107-4
29. Gunya, A., Lysenko, A., Lysenko, I., & Mitrofanenko, L. (2021). Transformation of nature protection institutions in the North Caucasus: From a state monopoly of governance to multi-actor management. Sustainability, 13(21), 12145. https://doi.org/10.3390/SU132112145
30. Haanpää, S., Juhola, S., & Landauer, M. (2014). Adapting to climate change: perceptions of vulnerability of down-hill ski area operators in Southern and Middle Finland. Current Issues in Tourism, 18(10), 966–978. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2014.892917
31. Huang, S. (Sam), Weiler, B., & Assaker, G. (2014). Effects of interpretive guiding outcomes on tourist satisfaction and behavioral intention. Journal of Travel Research, 54(3), 344–358. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287513517426
32. Jedd, T. M., Hayes, M. J., Carrillo, C. M., Haigh, T., Chizinski, C. J., & Swigart, J. (2017). Measuring park visitation vulnerability to climate extremes in U.S. Rockies National Parks tourism. Tourism Geographies, 20(2), 224–249. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2017.1377283
33. Jones, T. E., & Yamamoto, K. (2016). Segment-based monitoring of domestic and international climbers at Mount Fuji: Targeted risk reduction strategies for existing and emerging visitor segments. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 13, 10–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JORT.2016.01.002
34. Kessler, M. M. (1963). Bibliographic coupling between scientific papers. American Documentation, 14(1), 10–25. https://doi.org/10.1002/ASI.5090140103
35. Khanra, S., Dhir, A., & Mäntymäki, M. (2020). Big data analytics and enterprises: A bibliometric synthesis of the literature. Enterprise Information Systems, 14(6), 737–768. https://doi.org/10.1080/17517575.2020.1734241
36. Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (2017). Principles of marketing (14th ed.). Pearson.
37. Kumar, S., Sahoo, S., Lim, W. M., & Dana, L.-P. (2022). Religion as a social shaping force in entrepreneurship and business: Insights from a technology-empowered systematic literature review. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 175, 121393. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.TECHFORE.2021.121393
38. Kumar, S., Sureka, R., & Vashishtha, A. (2020). The Journal of Heritage Tourism: a bibliometric overview since its inception. Journal of Heritage Tourism, 15(4), 365–380. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743873X.2020.1754423
39. Kumar, S., Attri, K., & Shekhar. (2018). Strategies for holistic development of tourism industry in India: A case study of Himachal Pradesh. Journal of IMS Group, 15(02), 12–22. http://www.publishingindia.com/imsgroup/91/strategies-for-holistic-development-oftourism-industry-in-india-a-case-study-of-himachal-pradesh/777/5394/
40. Kumar, S., & Shekhar. (2020). Technology and innovation: Changing concept of rural tourism-A systematic review. Open Geosciences, 12(1), 737–752. https://doi.org/10.1515/geo-2020-0183
41. Kumar, S., Valeri, M., & Shekhar. (2021). Understanding the relationship among factors influencing rural tourism: a hierarchical approach. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 35(2), 385–407. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-01-2021-0006
42. Kušcer, K. (2014). Determining indicators of mountain destination development. Tourism Analysis, 19(4), 441–460. https://doi.org/10.3727/108354214X14090817031071
43. Kuščer, K., & Dwyer, L. (2018). Determinants of sustainability of ski resorts: do size and altitude matter? European Sport Management Quarterly, 19(4), 539–559. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2018.1550097
44. Kuščer, K., Mihalič, T., & Pechlaner, H. (2016). Innovation, sustainable tourism and environments in mountain destination development: a comparative analysis of Austria, Slovenia and Switzerland. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 25(4), 489–504. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2016.1223086
45. Lai, P. H., Hsu, Y. C., & Wearing, S. (2015). A social representation approach to facilitating adaptive co-management in mountain destinations managed for conservation and recreation. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 24(2), 227–244. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2015.1062018
46. Lal, M., Kumar, S., & Shekhar. (2019). Understanding the Dynamics of Length of Stay of Tourists in India through Interpretive Structure Modeling. Review of Professional Management- A Journal of New Delhi Institute of Management, 16(2), 14. https://doi.org/10.20968/rpm/2018/vl6/i2/141019
47. Lambiotte, R., Delvenne, J.-C., & Barahona, M. (2008). Laplacian dynamics and multiscale modular structure in networks. IEEE Transactions on Network Science and Engineering, 1(2), 76–90. https://doi.org/10.1109/tnse.2015.2391998
48. Liang, Z., & Bao, J. (2018). Targeted poverty alleviation in China: segmenting small tourism entrepreneurs and effectively supporting them. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 26(11), 1984– 2001. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2018.1526296
49. Lim, W. M., Rasul, T., Kumar, S., & Ala, M. (2021). Past, present, and future of customer engagement. Journal of Business Research, 140, 439-458. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JBUSRES.2021.11.014
50. Lun, L. M., Pechlaner, H., & Volgger, M. (2016). Rural tourism development in mountain regions: Identifying success factors, challenges and potentials. Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism, 17(4), 389–411. https://doi.org/10.1080/1528008X.2015.1096754
51. Luthe, T., Wyss, R., & Schuckert, M. (2012). Network governance and regional resilience to climate change: empirical evidence from mountain tourism communities in the Swiss Gotthard region. Regional Environmental Change, 12(4), 839–854. https://doi.org/10.1007/S10113-012- 0294-5
52. Malik, M. I., & Bhat, M. S. (2015). Sustainability of tourism development in Kashmir — Is paradise lost? Tourism Management Perspectives, 16, 11–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.TMP.2015.05.006
53. Maroudas, L., Kyriakaki, A., & Gouvis, D. (2011). A community approach to mountain adventure tourism development. Anatolia, 15(1), 5–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/13032917.2004.9687141
54. Mason, P., & Leberman, S. (2010). Local planning for recreation and tourism: A case study of mountain biking from New Zealand’s Manawatu Region. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 8(2), 97–115. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669580008667351
55. Mauri, C., & Nava, C. R. (2021). Do tourists experience boredom in mountain destinations? Annals of Tourism Research, 89, 103213. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ANNALS.2021.103213
56. Mutana, S., & Mukwada, G. (2018a). Can mountain route tourism work for the poor? Exploring worldviews from Maluti Route in the Drakensberg Region of South Africa: Tourism and Hospitality Research, 20(1), 18–30. https://doi.org/10.1177/1467358418791312
57. Mutana, S., & Mukwada, G. (2018b). Mountain-route tourism and sustainability. A discourse analysis of literature and possible future research. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 24, 59– 65. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JORT.2018.08.003
58. Nepal, S. K., & Chipeniuk, R. (2006). Mountain tourism: Toward a conceptual framework. Tourism Geographies, 7(3), 313–333. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616680500164849
59. Nyaupane, G. P., & Chhetri, N. (2009). Vulnerability to climate change of nature-based tourism in the Nepalese Himalayas. Tourism Geographies, 11(1), 95–119. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616680802643359
60. Nyaupane, G. P., Morais, D. B., & Dowler, L. (2006). The role of community involvement and number/type of visitors on tourism impacts: A controlled comparison of Annapurna, Nepal and Northwest Yunnan, China. Tourism Management, 27(6), 1373–1385. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.TOURMAN.2005.12.013
61. Palomo, I. (2017). Climate change impacts on ecosystem services in high mountain areas: A literature review. Mountain Research and Development, 37(2), 179–187. https://doi.org/10.1659/MRDJOURNAL-D-16-00110.1
62. Pattnaik, D., Kumar, S., Burton, B., & Lim, W. M. (2022). Economic Modelling at thirty-five: A retrospective bibliometric survey. Economic Modelling, 107, 105712. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ECONMOD.2021.105712
63. Pattnaik, D., Kumar, S., & Vashishtha, A. (2020). Research on trade credit – a systematic review and bibliometric analysis. Qualitative Research in Financial Markets, 12(4), 367–390. https://doi.org/10.1108/QRFM-09-2019-0103
64. Paunovic, I., & Jovanovic, V. (2017). Implementation of Sustainable tourism in the German Alps: A case study. Sustainability, 9(2), 226. https://doi.org/10.3390/SU9020226
65. Perianes-Rodriguez, A., Waltman, L., & Van Eck, N. (2016). Constructing bibliometric networks: A comparison between full and fractional counting. Journal of Informetrics, 10(4), 1178–1195.
66. Pröbstl-Haider, U., Hödl, C., Ginner, K., & Borgwardt, F. (2021). Climate change: Impacts on outdoor activities in the summer and shoulder seasons. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 34, 100344. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JORT.2020.100344
67. Putkaradze, M., & Abuselidze, G. (2019). The impact of tourism on business development in mountain regions: A case study. International Journal of Economics and Business Administration, 7(3), 70–83. https://doi.org/10.35808/IJEBA/308
68. Rebelo, C. F. C., Ezequiel, G. M. G., Mendes, S. L. da C. M., & de Jesus Carvalho, M. J. P. (2017). It is all about safety: An experience in Pico Mountain—Portugal. Tourism Planning & Development, 15(2), 134–148. https://doi.org/10.1080/21568316.2017.1303539
69. Río-Rama, M., Maldonado-Erazo, C. P., Durán-Sánchez, A., & Álvarez-García, J. (2019). Mountain tourism research. A review. European Journal of Tourism Research, 22, 130–150.
70. Sánchez-Cañizares, S. M., Castillo-Canalejo, A. M., & Cabeza-Ramírez, L. J. (2018). Sustainable tourism in sensitive areas: Bibliometric characterisation and content analysis of specialised literature. Sustainability, 10(5), 1525. https://doi.org/10.3390/SU10051525
71. Shekhar. (2022). Mapping research on food tourism : A review study. Paradigm: A Management Research Journal, 26(1), 50–69. https://doi.org/10.1177/09718907221088798
72. Shekhar, Gupta, A., & Valeri, M. (2022). Mapping research on family business in tourism and hospitality: A bibliometric analysis. Journal of Family Business Management, 12(3), 367-392. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFBM-10-2021-0121
73. Singh, R. B., Mal, S., & Kala, C. P. (2009). Community responses to mountain tourism: A case in Bhyundar Valley, Indian Himalaya. Journal of Mountain Science, 6(4), 394–404. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11629-009-1054-Y
74. Sood, J., Lynch, P., & Anastasiadou, C. (2017). Community non-participation in homestays in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, India. Tourism Management, 60, 332–347. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.TOURMAN.2016.12.007
75. Steiger, R., Knowles, N., Pöll, K., & Rutty, M. (2022). Impacts of climate change on mountain tourism: a review. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2022.2112204
76. Steiger, R., & Scott, D. (2020). Ski tourism in a warmer world: Increased adaptation and regional economic impacts in Austria. Tourism Management, 77, 104032. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.TOURMAN.2019.104032
77. Strobl, A., Teichmann, K., & Peters, M. (2015). Do mountain tourists demand ecotourism? Examining moderating influences in an Alpine tourism context. Tourism, 63(3), 383–398.
78. Sundriyal, S., Shridhar, V., Madhwal, S., Pandey, K., & Sharma, V. (2018). Impacts of tourism development on the physical environment of Mussoorie, a hill station in the lower Himalayan range of India. Journal of Mountain Science, 15(10), 2276–2291. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-017-4786-0
79. Thulemark, M., Lundmark, M., & Heldt-Cassel, S. (2014). Tourism employment and creative inmigrants. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 14(4), 403–421. https://doi.org/10.1080/15022250.2014.968000
80. Truong, T. L. H., Lenglet, F., & Mothe, C. (2018). Destination distinctiveness: Concept, measurement, and impact on tourist satisfaction. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 8, 214–231. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JDMM.2017.04.004
81. Van Eck, N. J., & Waltman, L. (2011). Text mining and visualization using VOSviewer. ISSI Newsletter, 7(3), 50–54.
82. Varley, P., & Medway, D. (2011). Ecosophy and tourism: Rethinking a mountain resort. Tourism Management, 32(4), 902–911. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.TOURMAN.2010.08.005
83. Yataganbaba, A., & Kurtbaş, I. (2016). A scientific approach with bibliometric analysis related to brick and tile drying: A review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 59, 206–224. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.RSER.2015.12.357
84. Zeng, L., & Li, R. Y. M. (2021). Tourist satisfaction, willingness to revisit and recommend, and mountain Kangyang tourism spots sustainability: a structural equation modelling approach. Sustainability, 13(19), 10620. https://doi.org/10.3390/SU131910620
85. Zeng, L., Li, R. Y. M., Nuttapong, J., Sun, J., & Mao, Y. (2022). Economic development and mountain tourism research from 2010 to 2020: Bibliometric analysis and science mapping approach. Sustainability, 14(1), 562. https://doi.org/10.3390/SU14010562
86. Ziegler, A. D., Wasson, R. J., Sundriyal, Y., Srivastava, P., Sasges, G., …, & Apollo, M. (2021). A call for reducing tourism risk to environmental hazards in the Himalaya. Environmental Hazards. https://doi.org/10.1080/17477891.2021.1984196
87. Zyoud, S. H., & Fuchs-Hanusch, D. (2017). A bibliometric-based survey on AHP and TOPSIS techniques. Expert Systems with Applications, 78, 158–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ESWA.2017.02.016