Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1
Depatment of Marketing and Entrepreneurship, Faculty of Management and Accounting, College of Farabi, University of Tehran, Qom, Iran
2
Department of Tourism Management and Economics, Faculty of Tourism, College of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
3
Tourism Department, Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, Tehran, Iran
10.22059/jrur.2025.376723.1945
Abstract
A B S T R A C T
Rural tourism, recognized as one of the most community-centered forms of tourism, has substantial economic, social, and cultural impacts. It contributes to retaining local populations in villages and supports sustainable rural development. The rapid growth of rural tourism has led to numerous studies in this area. Consequently, this study aims to examine the conceptual evolution of rural tourism and explore its research trends over the years using bibliometric and visualization techniques. To achieve this, 2,407 articles were retrieved from the Web of Science database and analyzed using VOS Viewer software. The findings indicate a steady increase in the publication and citation of articles in this field, with a record of 352 articles published in 2022 and 7,934 citations in 2023. Additionally, the top researchers, journals, countries, and universities were identified based on citation counts, and a co-authorship analysis of countries illustrated global collaborations in this domain. The co-occurrence analysis of keywords revealed that terms such as "rural tourism," "sustainable development," and "rural development" were the most frequently used in this field. This analysis also uncovered temporal trends, indicating that early research focused on culture, community participation, and service quality. As the concept of sustainable tourism gained importance, topics like environmental sustainability, ecotourism, resilience, and later, innovation, value co-creation, tourist experience, and the circular economy became more prominent. Recently, the influence of technology, such as smart tourism, has become a significant area of focus in this field
Extended Abstract
Introduction
Since the late 1970s, rural tourism has surged globally as a significant leisure pursuit, attracting tourists to countryside areas. It is vital for local economies and cultures, showcasing natural attractions, villages, farms, and historical sites. Rural tourism promotes sustainability, letting visitors immerse in rural life and support local communities. Rural tourism can facilitate sustainable tourism practices, foster the transfer of local cultures, preserve heritage, and safeguard the environment. Rural tourism studies lack comprehensive overview, often focusing on specific aspects rather than providing holistic analysis of the field. To fill this gap, the current research aims to offer a holistic understanding of rural tourism through bibliometric and illustrative methods.
Methodology
This study uses bibliometric analysis to explore trends and advancements in rural tourism research, employing a descriptive-analytical approach. The research utilized the Web of Science database to retrieve the data until the beginning of April 2024 with limitation of English language and only review and research articles reaching 2407 articles analyzed and visualized via VOS Viewer data. In addition to descriptive analysis, co-authorship and keywords co occurrence analysis were used.
Results and discussion
Scientific works on rural tourism emerged in 1994, with a steady increase in publications since. The peak was in 2022, with 352 articles. Citation rates have consistently risen, hitting a high of 7934 in 2023, highlighting the field's increasing importance and influence. The findings also show that article titled "Food, place and authenticity: local food and the sustainable tourism experience" was the most cited article, Kestenholz was the most cited researcher, Tourism Management Journal was the most cited publication, Aveiro University in Portugal was the most cited institution, and China was the most cited country publishing articles in the field of rural tourism. Based on co-authorship analysis of countries, China also emerges as a leading nation in promoting collaboration with other countries in this field and Based on the co-occurrence analysis of keywords within the field, the most frequent words were rural tourism, sustainable development, and rural development.
Recent years have seen a surge in rural tourism research, prompting numerous studies globally. This research offers an overview of current rural tourism studies, serving as a valuable resource for researchers. By identifying key contributors, journals, and countries, it aids in avoiding redundancy and improving the quality of scientific works in this field. The findings reveal a continuous increase in the number of articles within the field of rural tourism. The number of citations to articles within the field of rural tourism has also displayed an upward trend since its inception. Furthermore, since 2018, there has been a noticeable acceleration in the slope of this trend, indicating a significant increase in the attention and recognition afforded to articles in this field. Based on the co-authorship analysis of countries, China emerges as the leading nation in fostering collaboration with other countries in the realm of scientific production within the field of rural tourism. This suggests a strong commitment to international cooperation and knowledge exchange in advancing research efforts in this domain. The co-occurrence analysis of keywords within the field of rural tourism highlights key terms such as sustainable development, rural development and agritourism as the most frequently used alongside "rural tourism" and "tourism." Additionally, the illustration of the co-occurrence analysis based on temporal trends indicates a longstanding focus on issues such as agricultural tourism and service quality within this research field. However, in recent years, the research process has shifted towards addressing topics such as smart tourism, resilience, and the circular economy, customer experience, co creation and etc reflecting evolving interests and priorities within the field.
Conclusion
The findings suggest a notable increase in the number of articles published within the field of rural tourism in recent years. However, upon reviewing published research, it becomes evident that certain applied subfields, such as the impact of social media on the development of rural tourism, have not received sufficient investigation. This indicates a potential area for future research and exploration within the field. It can also be concluded that the scientific development process of the field of rural tourism at the beginning of its formation in the late 19th century was only focused on culture, concept and principles of rural toruism development, service quality and rural community participation and majority of research has focused on studying the economic benefits of rural tourism, such as employment opportunities and economic profitability. However, as sustainability gained prominence in the discourse surrounding rural tourism, some topics got momentum such as ecological environment, ecotourism, resilience, etc. Furthermore, from 2022 onwards, the influence of technology, artificial intelligence, social media, metaverse, and digital marketing has attracted attentions but still literature requires more studies regarding all these area in particular tourist experience, customer jouenry and touchoints, value co creation, tourist engagement, smart tourism in rural tourism marketing and etc.
Funding
There is no funding support.
Authors’ Contribution
Authors contributed equally to the conceptualization and writing of the article. All of the authors approved thecontent of the manuscript and agreed on all aspects of the work declaration of competing interest none.
Conflict of Interest
Authors declared no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to all the scientific consultants of this paper.
Keywords
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