Digital tourism: A bibliometric study of trends and research

Year 2025, Volume: 10 Issue: 1, 121 - 133

Ferhat Kurt , Volkan Genç

https://doi.org/10.31822/jomat.2025-10-1-121

Abstract

Digital advances are profoundly impacting consumer behaviour and industry dynamics, and the tourism sector stands to benefit significantly from these advances. This paper conducts a comprehensive bibliometric analysis focusing on the convergence of tourism and digitalisation. The study starts with the keywords ‘tourism’ and ‘digitalisation’ as the fundamental pillars of the study. With the help of a quantitative bibliometric analysis methodology, the current research seeks to delineate the prevalence and trajectory of these concepts within the scholarly literature. Using data from academic studies published between 2000 and 2024 and archived in the SCOPUS database, this study examines the development and prominence of relevant themes. The analysis identified 1437 studies. The number of studies conducted, especially after 2019, has increased significantly. When the keywords are analysed, the top three are ‘smart tourism,’ ‘big data,’ and ‘blockchain,’ respectively. When the link strength of the authors is examined, Chulmo Koo is in the first place, Dimitrios Buhalis is the most cited author, and among the journals, ‘Electronic Markets,’ ‘Tourism Review,’ and ’Sustainability’ are leading, respectively. In this context, some theoretical and practical suggestions are presented.

Keywords

Tourism, Digitalisation, Bibliometric analysis, Scopus, VOSviewer, Digital turism

Dijital turizm: Eğilimler ve araştırmalar üzerine bibliyometrik bir çalışma

Abstract

Dijital gelişmeler tüketici davranışlarını ve sektör dinamiklerini derinden etkilemekte ve turizm sektörü bu gelişmelerden önemli ölçüde faydalanmaktadır. Bu makale, turizm ve dijitalleşmenin yakınsamasına odaklanan kapsamlı bir bibliyometrik analiz gerçekleştirmektedir. Çalışma, 'turizm' ve 'dijitalleşme' anahtar kelimeleri çalışmanın temel dayanakları olarak ele alınarak başlamaktadır. Mevcut araştırma, nicel bir bibliyometrik analiz metodolojisinin yardımıyla, bu kavramların akademik literatürdeki yaygınlığını ve yörüngesini tanımlamayı amaçlamaktadır. SCOPUS veri tabanında arşivlenen ve 2000 ile 2024 yılları arasında yayınlanan akademik çalışmalardan elde edilen verileri kullanan bu çalışma, ilgili temaların gelişimini ve öne çıkışını incelemektedir. Analiz sonucunda 1437 çalışma tespit edilmiştir. Özellikle 2019 yılından sonra yapılan çalışmaların sayısı önemli ölçüde artmıştır. Anahtar kelimeler incelendiğinde ilk üç sırada sırasıyla 'akıllı turizm', 'büyük veri' ve 'blok zinciri' yer almaktadır. Yazarların bağlantı gücü incelendiğinde ise Chulmo Koo ilk sırada yer alırken, Dimitrios Buhalis en çok atıf alan yazar, dergiler arasında ise sırasıyla 'Electronic Markets', 'Tourism Review' ve 'Sustainability' başı çekiyor. Bu bağlamda, bazı teorik ve pratik öneriler sunulmuştur.

Keywords

Bibliyometrik analiz, Dijitalleşme, Dijital Turizm, Scopus, Turizm, VOSviewer

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