A Review of Space Tourism Research

Since 2001, when the first tourist flew to the International Space Station and then six others after him, space tourism can be considered a reality. Although space tourism remains in its pioneering stage, it has been attracting research studies since the beginning of the 1990s. As a relatively new tourism industry, it is opening up new aspects of research in the fields of technology, economics, sociology, law, medicine, safety, insurance, and others. The purpose of this paper is a comprehensive review of the research areas of space tourism. The available scientific articles, books, contributions to scientific conferences, symposia and workshops dealing with space tourism have been reviewed. Following careful analysis, we have identified the most important space tourism research trends, as well as the scientists who have contributed the largest number of publications. We have also recognized the under-represented areas that would be suitable for further studies. The PhD program is partially co-financed by the European Union through the European Social Fund. Co-financing is carried out under the framework of the Operational Programme for Human Resources Development for the period 2007–2013, ESF priority area: Promoting entrepreneurship and adaptability; priority axis 1.3: Scholarship Schemes.