Sustainability in hospitality and tourism: a review of key research topics from 1994 to 2020
International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management
ISSN: 0959-6119
Article publication date: 23 March 2022
Issue publication date: 26 July 2022
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the scientific research related to sustainability in hospitality and tourism from 1994 to 2020 by conducting bibliometric and science mapping analyses and to discuss the implications for prospective research opportunities.
Design/methodology/approach
Keyword co-occurrences with 2,980 published papers collected from the Web of Science (Social Science Citation Index and Emerging Sources Citation Index) were used for the bibliometric-based analysis. The authors use SciMAT software which offers relevant outputs, such as research themes and graphical outputs (strategic diagrams, cluster networks and science mapping representing the temporal evolution of the themes).
Findings
The findings show that biodiversity conservation, sustainable attitudes, climate change, protected areas, satisfaction and environmental management were the focal motor-themes in the studied periods. Additionally, four areas for future investigation are identified and discussed: sustainable behavior and environmental sustainability; consumption, demand and economic growth; tourism development and strategies; and rural tourism, poverty, ethics and education.
Research limitations/implications
This analysis shows insightful results processing a high number of published documents. However, the authors recommend further research focused on qualitative literature review for each critical topic.
Originality/value
The authors are unaware of analogous, completed and recent work about sustainability in hospitality and tourism. The authors believe this article is of great value to academics and practitioners because it synthesizes and disseminates the research topic while providing an outstanding basis for identifying research opportunities.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the University of Castilla-La Mancha for the financial support provided for this research under the Call for Research Groups (Reference: 2021-GRIN-31010), and to the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under the 2019 Call for R&D Projects (Project reference number: PID2019-105726RB-I00).
Citation
Molina-Collado, A., Santos-Vijande, M.L., Gómez-Rico, M. and Madera, J.M. (2022), "Sustainability in hospitality and tourism: a review of key research topics from 1994 to 2020", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 34 No. 8, pp. 3029-3064. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-10-2021-1305
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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