Safety and Health Publication Trends: A Case Study of the Tourism Industry

In the tourism industry, it is critical to prioritise safety and health measures to guarantee the satisfaction and well-being of local communities and tourists. This study analyses the publication patterns, geographic dispersion, most-cited articles, and thematic emphasis on safety and health research in the tourism industry. Our empirical investigation utilised Scopus and Web of Science datasets, which were analysed using ScientoPy and VOSviewer. The results showed a significant increase in research activity during the 2000s, suggesting that researchers emphasised the significance of safety and health practices in the tourism industry. China is the most prolific contributor, producing 154 publications, more than 50% of which were published between 2021 and 2022. The term ‘health tourism’ arises as the predominant subject of investigation in safety and health research on the tourism industry, having been featured in 215 publications. Significantly, 19% of publications utilising the term ‘health tourism’ were published between 2021 and 2022, suggesting continued enthusiasm and a recent upsurge in scholarly endeavours within this crucial field. Since 2018, the terms ‘tourism destination’, ‘tourism industry’, ‘satisfaction’, ‘public health’, ‘wellness’, ‘tourism safety’, ‘China’, ‘COVID-19’, ‘mental health’, ‘well-being’, and ‘health and wellness’ have dominated the emerging subfield or niche area of studying safety and health in the tourism industry.