Past, current, and future perspectives on eco-tourism: a bibliometric review between 2001 and 2018

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 27; no. 19; pp. 23514 - 23528
• Main Authors: Shasha, Ziphozakhe Theophilus, Geng, Yong, Sun, Hua-ping, Musakwa, Walter, Sun, Lu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.07.2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bibliometrics; Biodiversity; Climate Change; Conservation; Conservation biology; Documents; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotourism; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Forecasting; Government agencies; Growth rate; National parks; Natural resources; Network analysis; Review Article; Solid wastes; Sustainability; Sustainable tourism; Tourism; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Wildlife conservation; Eco-tourism; Low-carbon tourism; Green travel; Governance; Network analysis; Bibliometric review
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-08584-9

With increasing attentions on climate change, solid wastes, over-tourism, and improved environmental awareness worldwide, eco-tourism has been widely promoted worldwide. This requires that governmental agencies at different levels should prepare appropriate policies to facilitate eco-tourism and local communities should take necessary actions to preserve their natural resources, protect their environment, and support sustainable tourism. Academically, literatures on eco-tourism have increased faster with an annual growth rate of 10–30% during the recent years. Under such a circumstance, it is important to conduct a comprehensive review so that research progress on eco-tourism can be summarized and future research directions can be identified. Based on 1771 publications published during 2001–2018, a systematic method combining bibliometric analysis and network analysis is applied in this study to uncover the dynamic trends, academic collaboration, and research hotspots related with eco-tourism. Results show that the total number of relevant publications has gradually increased. Key journals include Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management , Annals of Tourism Research , Conservation Biology , and Biological Conservation . Authors from USA have the most publications and international co-authorships, while the most influential institution is the Chinese Academy of Science. Moreover, research keywords have been identified, including eco-tourism, management, biodiversity, national park, sustainability, and sustainable tourism. Research findings of this study provide valuable insights to further improve eco-tourism research so that this emerging research field can be proactively fostered.