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A Bibliometric Review of Research Progress, Trends, and Updates on Smart Tourism Research

Author

Listed:
  • Ziphozakhe Theophilus Shasha

    (Department of Information Technology, Faculty of Informatics and Design, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town P.O. Box 8000, South Africa)

  • Melius Weideman

    (Department of Information Technology, Faculty of Informatics and Design, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town P.O. Box 8000, South Africa)

  • Huaping Sun

    (School of Economics and Management, Xinjiang Institute of Engineering, Urumqi 830023, China
    School of Management Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Finance and Economics, Jinan 250014, China)

  • Guifeng Liu

    (Institute for Science and Technical Information, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China)

Abstract

Scholars are showing a growing interest in smart tourism, a promising trend in destination development. The current research studies have established a strong theoretical foundation on the functions of technology and the impacts of smart tourism on travelers. Nevertheless, little is known about the comprehensive and systemic effects on the growth of smart tourism in a particular destination. This study employs bibliometric analysis to examine the scientific literature of smart tourism research, based on 563 relevant publications retrieved from the leading database Web of Science Core Collection between 2000 and 2024 and analyzed using VOSviewer software 1.6.20 packages. The results show that the total number of relevant publications has gradually increased in recent years. Key journals include Tourism Management, Sustainability-Basel, and Annals of Tourism Research. The results also show that authors from the People’s Republic of China have the most publications and international co-authorships, while the most influential institution is the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Moreover, research keywords have been identified, including smart tourism, smart cities, Internet of Things and big data. The research findings of this study provide valuable insights to further improve smart tourism research.

Suggested Citation

  • Ziphozakhe Theophilus Shasha & Melius Weideman & Huaping Sun & Guifeng Liu, 2025. "A Bibliometric Review of Research Progress, Trends, and Updates on Smart Tourism Research," Businesses, MDPI, vol. 5(3), pages 1-20, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jbusin:v:5:y:2025:i:3:p:39-:d:1741184
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alharmoodi, Ahmed Abdulla & Khan, Mehmood & Mertzanis, Charilaos & Gupta, Shivam & Mikalef, Patrick & Parida, Vinit, 2024. "Co-creation and critical factors for the development of an efficient public e-tourism system," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
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    5. Kim, Ha Jin & Jeong, Yoo Kyung & Song, Min, 2016. "Content- and proximity-based author co-citation analysis using citation sentences," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 954-966.
    6. Lorenzo Ardito & Roberto Cerchione & Pasquale Del Vecchio & Elisabetta Raguseo, 2019. "Big data in smart tourism: challenges, issues and opportunities," Current Issues in Tourism, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(15), pages 1805-1809, September.
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