Termal Turizm Araştırmalarında Atıf Yapıları: Vosviewer Kullanılarak Bibliyometrik Bir Analiz

Abstract

Amaç: Bu çalışma, termal turizm literatüründeki akademik eğilimleri analiz ederek, ana temaları, yazar işbirliklerini ve ülkeler arasındaki bilimsel katkıları değerlendirmektedir. Yöntemler: Web of Science veritabanından elde edilen verilerle bibliyometrik analiz yapılmış ve sonuçlar VOSviewer yazılımı ile görselleştirilmiştir. Termal turizm çalışmalarında öne çıkan temalar ve yazarlar belirlenmiş, ülkeler ve kurumlar arasındaki bilimsel işbirliklerinin niteliği değerlendirilmiştir. Bulgular: Bulgular, Türkiye, İspanya ve İtalya gibi ülkelerin termal turizm literatürüne önemli katkılarda bulunduğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Son yıllarda Portekiz'den çıkan yayınlarda bir artış gözlemlenmiştir. Anahtar kelime analizi, toplam bağlantı gücü açısından en güçlü ifadelerin termal turizm, sağlık turizmi ve turizm olduğunu göstermektedir. Bu anahtar kelimelerin, zindelik, sağlık turisti davranışı, tesisler ve çevresel etkiler gibi kavramlarla güçlü bir ilişkisi olduğu bulunmuştur. Son yıllarda, araştırmacıların konu hakkında daha anlamlı bilgilere ulaşmalarını sağlayacak araştırma merkezlerinin yayınlarının literatürde daha fazla yer bulduğu gözlemlenmiştir. Sonuç: Bu çalışma, termal turizmin bireysel, toplumsal, ekonomik ve kültürel etkilerini daha iyi anlamaya katkı sağlamaktadır. Termal turizmi çok disiplinli bir alan olarak ele alarak, gelecekteki araştırmalar için faydalı bir çerçeve sunmakta ve termal turizmle ilgili stratejiler geliştirmede araştırmacılar ve endüstri paydaşları için yardımcı bir referans olabilir.

Keywords

• Sağlık turizmi
• termal turizm
• Sağlık ve Zindelik turizmi
• Wellness

Citation Structures in Thermal Tourism Research: A Bibliometric Analysis Using Vosviewer

Abstract

Aim: This study analyzes academic trends in thermal tourism literature, evaluating key themes, author collaborations, and scientific contributions among countries. Methods: Bibliometric analysis was conducted using data from the Web of Science database, and the results were visualized with VOSviewer software. The themes and authors prominent in thermal tourism studies were identified, and the nature of scientific collaborations between countries and institutions was assessed. Results: The findings reveal that countries such as Turkey, Spain and Italy have made significant contributions to the thermal tourism literature. In recent years, there has been an increase in publications originating from Portugal. Keyword analysis shows that the strongest phrases in terms of total link strength are thermal tourism, health tourism and tourism. These keywords were found to have a strong relationship with concepts such as wellness, health tourist behavior, facilities, and environmental impacts. In recent years, the publications of research centers that will enable researchers to obtain more meaningful information on the subject have found more place in the literature. Conclusion: This study enhances the understanding of the individual, societal, economic, and cultural impacts of thermal tourism. By approaching thermal tourism as a multidisciplinary field, it provides a useful framework for future research and may serve as a helpful reference for researchers and industry stakeholders in exploring strategies related to thermal tourism.

Keywords

• thermal tourism
• health and wellness tourism
• wellness
• health tourism
• tourism

References

1. Alonso-Álvarez, L. (2012). The value of water: The origins and expansion of thermal tourism in Spain, 1750–2010. Journal of Tourism History, 4(1), 15-34.
2. Bertan, S. (2019). Residents’ perception towards thermal tourism impacts. Anais Brasileiros de Estudos Turísticos, 9(1, 2 e 3).
3. Blichfeldt, B. S., & Nicolaisen, J. (2011). Disabled travel: not easy, but doable. Current issues in tourism, 14(1), 79-102.
4. Bookman, M. Z., & Bookman, K. R. (2007). Introduction to medical tourism. In Medical tourism in developing countries (pp. 1-19). Palgrave Macmillan US.
5. Brandão, F., Liberato, D., Teixeira, A. S., & Liberato, P. (2021). Motives for thermal tourism: An application to north and central Portugal. Sustainability, 13(22), 12688.
6. Barros, C. L., Sousa, B. M., & Fernandes, P. O. (2021). Encouraging innovation and relational Trends in thermal tourism: a peninsular northwest perspective. In 35th International Business Information Management Association Conference, IBIMA (pp. 18514-18524).
7. Cinti, M. G. (2021). Turismo termale in Italia: Evoluzione, impatti e prospettive di rilancio. Documenti geografici, 1(1), 65-88.
8. Connell, J. (2011). Medical tourism. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, UK.

9. Dahanayake, S., Wanninayake, B., & Ranasinghe, R. (2023). Memorable experience studies in wellness tourism: systematic review & bibliometric analysis. International Journal of Spa and Wellness, 6(1), 28-53.
10. Demir, Y., & Dag, E. (2024). Relationship between healthy lifestyles awareness, health perception and mental well-being: A cross-sectional study on thermal tourism service recipients. Journal of Tourism Management Research, 11(2), 167-177.
11. Duman, T., & Kozak, M. (2010). The Turkish tourism product: Differentiation and competitiveness. Anatolia, 21(1), 89-106. Emir, O., & Saraçli, S. (2014). Determination of the thermal hotel location: application of analytic hierarchy process. Tourism and Hospitality Management, 20(1), 71-83.
12. Emir, O., & Arslanturk, Y. (2015). Perceptions of tourism students on thermal tourism in Afyonkarahisar. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 176, 565-570.
13. Erfurt-Cooper, P., & Cooper, M. (2009). Health and wellness tourism: Spas and hot springs (Vol. 40). Channel View Publications.
14. Esiyok, B., Kurtulmuşoğlu, F. B., & Özdemir, A. (2018). Heterogeneity in the determinants of length of stay across middle age and senior age groups in thermal tourism. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 35(4), 531-540.
15. European Spas Association. (2022). European spas and health resorts. European Spas Association. Retrieved from https://europeanspas.eu (Accessed on March 5, 2025).
16. Forgione, D. A., & Smith, P. C. (2007). Medical tourism and its impact on the US health care system. Journal of Health Care Finance, 34(1), 27-35.
17. González-Barreiro, C., Cancho-Grande, B., Araujo-Nespereira, P., Cid-Fernández, J. A., & Simal-Gándara, J. (2009). Occurrence of soluble organic compounds in thermal waters by ion trap mass detection. Chemosphere, 75(1), 34-47.
18. Global Wellness Institute. (2023). Global wellness economy monitor 2023. Retrieved from https://globalwellnessinstitute.org/industry-research/global-wellness-economy-monitor-2023/ (Accessed on March 5, 2025).
19. Health Tourism Report. (2010). Health tourism statistics. Retrieved from http://www.saglikturizmi.org.tr/tr/saglikturizmi-istatistikleri
20. Kozak, M. (2002). Comparative analysis of tourist motivations by nationality and destinations. Tourism management, 23(3), 221-232.
21. Kurtulmuşoğlu, F. B., & Esiyok, B. (2017). Motivations and destination selection of mature international thalassotherapy tourists. Current Issues in Tourism, 20(7), 705-723.
22. Liberato, P., & Cerqueira, I. (2021). Conscious tourism's dimension in the historical villages of Portugal. European Journal of Sustainable Development, 10(1), 1-1.
23. Mavric, B., Öğretmenoğlu, M., & Akova, O. (2021). Bibliometric analysis of slow tourism. Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Research (AHTR), 9(1), 157-178.
24. Nikoli, G., & Lazakidou, A. (2019). A review of thermal tourism in Europe and Greece. Tourism: An International Interdisciplinary Journal, 67(3), 318-322.
25. Pereira, R., Costa, V., & Gomes, H. (2023). Health and wellness tourism: An overview of thermal tourism in Portugal. Journal of Tourism, Sustainability and Well-being, 11(3), 136-147.
26. Sayılı, M., Akca, H., Duman, T., & Esengun, K. (2007). Psoriasis treatment via doctor fishes as part of health tourism: A case study of Kangal Fish Spring, Turkiye. Tourism Management, 28(2), 625-629.
27. Smith, M., & Puczkó, L. (2014). Health, tourism and hospitality: Spas, wellness and medical travel. Routledge. Suban, S. A. (2023). Bibliometric analysis on wellness tourism–citation and co-citation analysis. International Hospitality Review, 37(2), 359-383.
28. Stavroula, G., & Vasiliki, D. (2020). Alternative forms of sustainable development: The case of thermal tourism. International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development, 19(4), 367-377.
29. Turner, L. (2007). Medical tourism: Family medicine and international health-related travel. Canadian Family Physician, 53(10), 1639-1641.
30. USHAŞ. (2024). Sağlık turizmi verileri [Health tourism data]. Retrieved from https://www.ushas.com.tr/saglik-turizmi-verileri/ (Accessed on March 5, 2025).
31. Van Eck, N. J., & Waltman, L. (2010). Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping. Scientometrics, 84(2), 523-538.
32. Zhang, X., Estoque, R.C., Xie, H., Murayama, Y., & Ranagalage, M. (2019). Bibliometric analysis of highly cited articles on ecosystem services. PLoS ONE, 14(2), 1-16.