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Mapping the Sustainable Development in Health Tourism: A Systematic Literature Review

Author

Listed:
  • Natália Figueiredo

    (CISeD—Research Centre in Digital Services, Polytechnic University of Viseu, 3504-510 Viseu, Portugal)

  • José Luís Abrantes

    (CISeD—Research Centre in Digital Services, Polytechnic University of Viseu, 3504-510 Viseu, Portugal)

  • Sandra Costa

    (CISeD—Research Centre in Digital Services, Polytechnic University of Viseu, 3504-510 Viseu, Portugal)

Abstract

Health tourism is recognised as a growing industry. Therefore, sustainable development in health tourism is crucial not only for the well-being of patients but also for destinations and communities. In this sense, sustainable development in health tourism aims to develop solutions related to the environmental, social, and economic challenges faced by the country and the tourism sector. After the COVID-19 pandemic, health tourism has become popular, and despite the increase in research related to the theme, the existing literature is still relatively fragmented and lacks a comprehensive view. This study addresses this gap by investigating sustainable development in health tourism through a systematic literature review. Ninety-three articles were collected from the Web of Science database. After subjecting them to bibliometric analysis, it is possible to examine the topic’s current state of the art. This research permits the systematisation of the existing literature into five areas: (1) stakeholders of sustainable tourism, (2) impact of COVID-19, (3) health tourism, (4) challenges and opportunities, and (5) sustainability values. This research provides significant contributions to the field of sustainable development in health tourism. Firstly, it sheds light on aspects that previous literature has examined, offering valuable insights into the drivers of sustainable development in health tourism, thus enriching our comprehension of the subject. Additionally, the article delineates a prospective research agenda, suggesting various directions that can lay the foundation for upcoming inquiries and the development of pertinent theories for assessing the impact of sustainable development in health tourism.

Suggested Citation

  • Natália Figueiredo & José Luís Abrantes & Sandra Costa, 2024. "Mapping the Sustainable Development in Health Tourism: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-24, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:5:p:1901-:d:1345938
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Snyder, Hannah, 2019. "Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 333-339.
    2. Dangzhi Zhao & Andreas Strotmann, 2008. "Evolution of research activities and intellectual influences in information science 1996–2005: Introducing author bibliographic‐coupling analysis," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 59(13), pages 2070-2086, November.
    3. Neha Singh, 2013. "Exploring the factors influencing the travel motivations of US medical tourists," Current Issues in Tourism, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(5), pages 436-454.
    4. Chia-Pin Yu & Shu Tian Cole & Charles Chancellor, 2018. "Resident Support for Tourism Development in Rural Midwestern (USA) Communities: Perceived Tourism Impacts and Community Quality of Life Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-17, March.
    5. Nees Jan van Eck & Ludo Waltman, 2009. "How to normalize cooccurrence data? An analysis of some well‐known similarity measures," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 60(8), pages 1635-1651, August.
    6. Nees Jan Eck & Ludo Waltman, 2010. "Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 84(2), pages 523-538, August.
    7. Hailiang, Zeng & Chau, Ka Yin & Waqas, Muhammad, 2023. "Does green finance and renewable energy promote tourism for sustainable development: Empirical evidence from China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 207(C), pages 660-671.
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    1. Hatice Güçlü Nergiz & Fidel Toker, 2025. "Healthy Aging in the Tourism Industry: A Systematic Literature Review," SAGE Open, , vol. 15(3), pages 21582440251, September.

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