Technology in Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Research: A Bibliometric Mapping

Öz

Technology has profoundly impacted the tourism industry and numerous studies examining how digitalization has shaped various tourism sectors and activities. A comprehensive analysis of these studies enables the current status and tendencies in the literature to be revealed. Therefore, 5,103 articles related to technology in hospitality, leisure, sport, and tourism have been analyzed using bibliometric methods. Articles published between 1995 and 2024 were examined based on countries, institutions, journals, key authors, keywords, co-occurrence, clustering, and co-citation analyses, and the prominent research areas identified through these analyses have been presented. Additionally, recommendations for future studies have been provided. While social media was the most researched and cited theme between 1995 and 2024, areas such as VR, AR, and human-robot interaction have become more prominent in recent years. The study identified four clusters, analyzed the temporal distribution of related research, and discussed research trends.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Technology
• Tourism Research
• Research Trends
• Bibliometric Analysis
• Web of Science

Ağırlama, Boş Zaman, Spor ve Turizm Araştırmalarında Teknoloji: Bir Bibliyometrik Haritalama

Öz

Teknoloji, turizm endüstrisini derinlemesine etkilemiş ve bir çok çalışmada dijitalleşme sürecinin turizmin çeşitli sektör ve faaliyetlerini nasıl şekillendirdiği incelenmiştir. Bu çalışmaların kapsamlı bir şekilde analiz edilmesi, literatürdeki mevcut durumun ve eğilimlerin ortaya çıkarılmasını sağlamaktadır. Bu nedenle, "ağırlama, boş zaman, spor ve turizm" alanlarındaki teknoloji ile ilgili 5103 makale bibliyometrik analiz yoluyla incelenmiştir. 1995 ve 2024 yılları arasında yayımlanan makaleler, ülkeler, kurumlar, dergiler, önemli yazar anahtar kelimeleri, eş ortaya çıkma, kümeleme ve eş atıf analizleri kullanılarak incelenmiş ve analizler sonucunda öne çıkan araştırma alanları sunulmuştur. Ayrıca, gelecekteki çalışmalara yönelik öneriler sunulmuştur. 1995 ve 2024 yılları arasında en çok araştırılan ve atıf alan tema sosyal medya olurken, son yıllarda VR, AR ve insan-robot etkileşimi gibi alanlar öne çıkmaktadır. Çalışmada dört küme ortaya çıkarılmıştır. İlgili araştırmaların dönemsel dağılımı incelenmiş ve araştırmaların eğilimleri tartışılmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Teknoloji
• Turizm Araştırmaları
• Araştırma Eğilimleri
• Bibliyometrik Analiz
• Web Of Science

Kaynakça

1. Amaro, S., & Duarte, P. (2015). An integrative model of consumers' intentions to purchase travel online. Tourism Management, 46, 64-79.
2. Ayeh, J. K., Au, N., & Law, R. (2013). “Do we believe in TripAdvisor?” Examining credibility perceptions and online travelers’ attitude toward using user-generated content. Journal of Travel Research, 52(4), 437-452.
3. Baniya, R., Dogru-Dastan, H., & Thapa, B. (2020). Visitors' experience at Angkor Wat, Cambodia: Evidence from sentiment and topic analysis. Journal of Heritage Tourism, 16(6), 632-645. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743873X.2020.1833892
4. Barrios, M., Borrego, A., Vilaginés, A., Ollé, C., & Somoza, M. (2008). A bibliometric study of psychological research on tourism. Scientometrics, 77(3), 453-467. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-007-1952-0
5. Bastidas-Manzano, A. B., Sánchez-Fernández, J., & Casado-Aranda, L. A. (2021). The past, present, and future of smart tourism destinations: A bibliometric analysis. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 45(3), 529-552. https://doi.org/10.1177/1096348020967062
6. Bazm, S., Kalantar, S. M., & Mirzaei, M. (2016). Bibliometric mapping and clustering analysis of Iranian papers on reproductive medicine in Scopus database (2010-2014). International Journal of Reproductive BioMedicine, 14(6), 371–382. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4971550/pdf/ijrb-14-371.pdf
7. Bilgihan, A., Peng, C., & Kandampully, J. (2014). Generation Y's dining information seeking and sharing behavior on social networking sites: An exploratory study. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 26(3), 349-366.
8. Buhalis, D. (2020). Technology in tourism—From information communication technologies to eTourism and smart tourism towards ambient intelligence tourism: A perspective article. Tourism Review, 75(1), 267-272. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-06-2019-0258

9. Buhalis, D., Harwood, T., Bogicevic, V., Viglia, G., Beldona, S., & Hofacker, C. (2019). Technological disruptions in services: Lessons from tourism and hospitality. Journal of Service Management, 30(4), 484-506. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-12-2018-0398
10. Camargo, L. O. L. (2019). Hospitality, tourism and leisure. Revista Brasileira de Pesquisa em Turismo, 13(3), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.7784/rbtur.v13i3.1749
11. Cambridge Dictionary. (2025). Technology. In Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved April 9 from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-turkish/technology
12. Casillas, J., & Acedo, F. (2007). Evolution of the intellectual structure of family business literature: A bibliometric study of FBR. Family Business Review, 20(2), 141–162. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-6248.2007.00092.x
13. Chamoux, J. P. (2018). Digital omnipresence: Its causes and consequences. In J. P. Chamoux, The digital era 1: Big data stakes (pp. 5-34). ISTE Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119102687.ch1
14. Chen, C. (2017). Science mapping: A systematic review of the literature. Journal of Data and Information Science, 2, 1–40. https://doi.org/10.1515/jdis-2017-0006
15. Chen, S., Law, R., Xu, S., & Zhang, M. (2020). Bibliometric and visualized analysis of mobile technology in tourism. Sustainability, 12(19), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12197975
16. Clarivate Analytics. (2023). Web of science. https://clarivate.com/webofsciencegroup/solutions/%20web-of-science/
17. Dalgic, A., & Birdir, K. (2020). Smart hotels and technological applications. In E. Çeltek (Ed.), Handbook of research on smart technology applications in the tourism industry (pp. 323-343). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-1989-9.ch015
18. Della Corte, V., Del Gaudio, G., Sepe, F., & Sciarelli, F. (2019). Sustainable tourism in the open innovation realm: A bibliometric analysis. Sustainability, 11(21), 6114. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11216114
19. Dorcic, J., Komsic, J., & Markovic, S. (2019). Mobile technologies and applications towards smart tourism – state of the art. Tourism Review, 74, 82-103. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-07-2017-0121
20. Dredge, D., Phi, G., Mahadevan, R., Meehan, E., & Popescu, E. S. (2018). Digitalisation in tourism: In-depth analysis of challenges and opportunities. Aalborg University. https://vbn.aau.dk/ws/files/296441087/REPORT_TourismDigitalisation_131118_REV_KB_EM_4_.pdf
21. Ebert, C., & Duarte, C. H. (2018). Digital transformation. IEEE Software, 35, 16-21. https://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/MS.2018.2801537
22. Fang, Y., Yin, J., & Wu, B. (2018). Climate change and tourism: A scientometric analysis using CiteSpace. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 26(1), 108-126. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2017.1329310
23. Gammon, S., & Robinson, T. (2003). Sport and tourism: A conceptual framework. Journal of Sport & Tourism, 8(1), 21–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/14775080306236
24. Geurin-Eagleman, A. N., & Burch, L. M. (2016). Communicating via photographs: A gendered analysis of Olympic athletes’ visual self-presentation on Instagram. Sport Management Review, 19(2), 133-145.
25. Graciano, P. F., & Holanda, L. A. D. (2020). Bibliometric analysis of scientific literature on community-based tourism from 2013 to 2018. Revista Brasileira de Pesquisa em Turismo, 14(1), 161-179. https://doi.org/10.7784/rbtur.v14i1.1736
26. Gupta, V. (2019). The influencing role of social media in the consumer’s hotel decision-making process. Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes. https://doi.org/10.1108/WHATT-04-2019-0019
27. Guttentag, D. A. (2010). Virtual reality: Applications and implications for tourism. Tourism Management, 31(5), 637-651.
28. Hays, S., Page, S. J., & Buhalis, D. (2013). Social media as a destination marketing tool: Its use by national tourism organisations. Current Issues in Tourism, 16(3), 211–239. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2012.662215
29. Herrera-Franco, G., Montalván-Burbano, N., Carrión-Mero, P., Apolo-Masache, B., & Jaya-Montalvo, M. (2020). Research trends in geotourism: A bibliometric analysis using the Scopus database. Geosciences, 10(10), 379. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences10100379
30. Hinch, T. D., & Higham, J. E. (2001). Sport tourism: A framework for research. International Journal of Tourism Research, 3(1), 45-58. https://doi.org/10.1002/1522-1970(200101/02)3:1%3C45::AID-JTR243%3E3.0.CO;2-A
31. Jaksic-Stojanovic, A., Jankovic, M., & Seric, N. (2019). Montenegro as high-quality sports tourism destination-trends and perspectives. Sport Mont, 17(1), 93-95. https://doi.org/10.26773/smj.190218
32. Jeong, Y. K., Song, M., & Ding, Y. (2014). Content-based author co-citation analysis. Journal of Informetrics, 8(1), 197-211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2013.12.001
33. Jung, T., Chung, N., & Leue, M. C. (2015). The determinants of recommendations to use augmented reality technologies: The case of a Korean theme park. Tourism Management, 49, 75-86.
34. Khanra, S., Dhir, A., Kaur, P., & Mäntymäki, M. (2021). Bibliometric analysis and literature review of ecotourism: Toward sustainable development. Tourism Management Perspectives, 37, 100777. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2020.100777
35. Kim, M. J., Lee, C. K., & Jung, T. (2020). Exploring consumer behavior in virtual reality tourism using an extended stimulus-organism-response model. Journal of Travel Research, 59(1), 69-89.
36. Kim, S. S., Kim, J., Badu-Baiden, F., Giroux, M., & Choi, Y. (2021). Preference for robot service or human service in hotels? Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 93, 102795.
37. Knani, M., Echchakoui, S., & Ladhari, R. (2022). Artificial intelligence in tourism and hospitality: Bibliometric analysis and research agenda. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 107, 103317. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2022.103317
38. Kumar, S., Kumar, V., Kumari Bhatt, I., Kumar, S., & Attri, K. (2024). Digital transformation in tourism sector: Trends and future perspectives from a bibliometric-content analysis. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, 7(3), 1553-1576.
39. Kurtz, M. J., & Bollen, J. (2010). Usage bibliometrics. Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, 44(1), 1-64. https://doi.org/10.1002/aris.2010.1440440108
40. Leung, D., Law, R., Van Hoof, H., & Buhalis, D. (2013). Social media in tourism and hospitality: A literature review. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 30(1-2), 3-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2013.750919
41. Leung, R. (2018). Smart hospitality: Taiwan hotel stakeholder perspectives. Tourism Review, 74(1), 50-62. https://doi.org/10.1108/tr-09-2017-0149
42. Liu, Z., & Park, S. (2015). What makes a useful online review? Implication for travel product websites. Tourism Management, 47, 140-151.
43. Loureiro, S. M. C., Guerreiro, J., & Ali, F. (2020). 20 years of research on virtual reality and augmented reality in tourism context: A text-mining approach. Tourism Management, 77, 104028. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2019.104028
44. Lu, L., Cai, R., & Gursoy, D. (2019). Developing and validating a service robot integration willingness scale. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 80, 36-51.
45. Madzík, P., Falát, L., Copuš, L., & Valeri, M. (2023). Digital transformation in tourism: Bibliometric literature review based on machine learning approach. European Journal of Innovation Management, 26(7), 177-205.
46. Mehraliyev, F., Choi, Y., & Koseoglu, M. A. (2019). Social structure of social media research in tourism and hospitality. Tourism Recreation Research, 44(4), 451-465. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2019.1609229
47. Meng, L., Wen, K. H., Brewin, R., & Wu, Q. (2020). Knowledge atlas on the relationship between urban street space and residents’ health—A bibliometric analysis based on VOSviewer and CiteSpace. Sustainability, 12(6), 2384. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12062384
48. Minghetti, V., & Buhalis, D. (2010). Digital divide in tourism. Journal of Travel Research, 49(3), 267–281. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287509346843
49. Moyle, B., Moyle, C. L., Ruhanen, L., Weaver, D., & Hadinejad, A. (2020). Are we really progressing sustainable tourism research? A bibliometric analysis. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 29(1), 106-122. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2020.1817048
50. Nähler, H., & Gronauer, B. (2017). TRIZ in the context of digitalisation and digital transformation. In Proceedings of the MATRIZ TRIZfest-2017 International Conference (pp. 475-482).
51. Nusair, K., Butt, I., & Nikhashemi, S. (2019). A bibliometric analysis of social media in hospitality and tourism research. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 31(7), 2691-2719. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-06-2018-0489
52. Okumus, B., Koseoglu, M. A., & Ma, F. (2018). Food and gastronomy research in tourism and hospitality: A bibliometric analysis. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 73, 64-74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2018.01.020
53. Online Etymology Dictionary. (2025). Origin and history of technology. In Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved April 9, 2025 from https://www.etymonline.com/word/technology
54. Pillai, R., & Sivathanu, B. (2020). Adoption of AI-based chatbots for hospitality and tourism. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 32(10), 3199-3226.
55. Pindžo, R., & Brjaktarović, L. (2018). Digital transformation of tourism. Tourism International Scientific Conference Vrnjačka Banja - TISC, 3(1), 340-355. http://www.tisc.rs/proceedings/index.php/hitmc/article/view/19
56. Pranckutė, R. (2021). Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus: The titans of bibliographic information in today’s academic world. Publications, 9(1), 12. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2020.1772233
57. Rauniyar, S., Awasthi, M. K., Kapoor, S., & Mishra, A. K. (2021). Agritourism: Structured literature review and bibliometric analysis. Tourism Recreation Research, 46(1), 52-70. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2020.1753913
58. Rodríguez-López, M. E., Alcántara-Pilar, J. M., Del Barrio-García, S., & Muñoz-Leiva, F. (2020). A review of restaurant research in the last two decades: A bibliometric analysis. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 87, 102387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2019.102387
59. Sánchez, A. D., Del Río, M. D. L. C., & García, J. Á. (2017). Bibliometric analysis of publications on wine tourism in the databases Scopus and WoS. European Research on Management and Business Economics, 23(1), 8-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iedeen.2016.02.001
60. Shasha, Z. T., Geng, Y., Sun, H. P., Musakwa, W., & Sun, L. (2020). Past, current, and future perspectives on eco-tourism: A bibliometric review between 2001 and 2018. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27(19), 23514-23528. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08584-9
61. Small, H. (1973). Co-citation in the scientific literature: A new measure of the relationship between two documents. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 24(4), 265-269.
62. Song, J., Li, Y., Feng, Z., & Wang, H. (2019). Cluster analysis of the intellectual structure of PPP research. Journal of Management in Engineering, 35(1), 04018053. https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)me.1943-5479.0000664
63. Su, H. N., & Lee, P. C. (2010). Mapping knowledge structure by keyword co-occurrence: A first look at journal papers in Technology Foresight. Scientometrics, 85, 65-79. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-010-0259-8
64. Sun, J., & Yuan, B.-Z. (2020). Mapping of the world rice research: A bibliometric analysis of top papers during 2008-2018. Annals of Library and Information Studies, 67(1), 56-66. https://doi.org/10.56042/alis.v67i1.30297
65. Toklu, R., Gök, M., Güven, E., & Eren, T. (2024). Türkiye’de bulut bilişim üzerine yapılmış tezlerin bibliyometrik analizi. Selçuk Turizm ve Bilişim Araştırmaları Dergisi, (6), 37-55. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/stbad/issue/87990/1516769
66. Tuncer, İ. (2020). Customer experience in the restaurant industry: Use of smart technologies. In E. Çeltek (Ed.), Handbook of research on smart technology applications in the tourism industry (pp. 254-272). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-1989-9.ch012
67. Tussyadiah, I. P., Wang, D., Jung, T. H., & Tom Dieck, M. C. (2018). Virtual reality, presence, and attitude change: Empirical evidence from tourism. Tourism Management, 66, 140-154.
68. UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization). (2019). UNWTO tourism definitions. UNWTO. https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284420858
69. Urbančič, J., Kuralt, V., Ratkajec, H., Straus, M., Vavroš, A., Mokorel, S., & Ilijaš, T. (2020). Expansion of technology utilization through tourism 4.0 in Slovenia. In E. Çeltek (Ed.), Handbook of research on smart technology applications in the tourism industry (pp. 229-253). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-1989-9.ch011
70. Varkaris, E., & Neuhofer, B. (2017). The influence of social media on the consumers’ hotel decision journey. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, 8(1), 101-118. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTT-09-2016-0058
71. Wang, C., & Zhang, P. (2012). The evolution of social commerce: The people, management, technology, and information dimensions. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 31, 105-126. https://doi.org/10.17705/1CAIS.03105
72. West, S., Naar, J. J., Son, J. S., & Liechty, T. (2019). Promoting team sport participation among older women. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, 37(4). https://doi.org/10.18666/JPRA-2019-9118
73. Xiang, Z., & Fesenmaier, D. R. (2017). Big data analytics, tourism design and smart tourism. In Z. Xiang & D. R. Fesenmaier (Eds.), Analytics in smart tourism design concepts and methods (pp. 299-306). Springer International Publishing.
74. Xiang, Z., & Gretzel, U. (2010). Role of social media in online travel information search. Tourism Management, 31(2), 179–188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2009.02.016
75. Yuan, Y., Tseng, Y.-H., & Ho, C.-I. (2019). Tourism information technology research trends: 1990-2016. Tourism Review, 74(1), 5-19. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-08-2017-0128
76. Zeren, D., & Kaya, N. (2020). Dijital pazarlama: Ulusal yazının bibliyometrik analizi. Çağ Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 17(1), 35-52. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/cagsbd/issue/55510/760038
77. Zhang, Z. (2019). Visualization analysis of the development trajectory of knowledge sharing in virtual communities based on CiteSpace. Multimedia Tools and Applications, 78(21), 29643-29657. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-018-6061-y