A taxonomical study of tourism experience based on bibliometric analysis

Abstract

Tourism is creating and delivering travel and visiting experiences. The ‘experience economy concept’ introduction highlights the managerial focus is shifting from delivering ‘tourism products’ to providing ‘tourism experiences’ (TE). This study reviews the trends in the field of TE. A bibliometric analysis method in this study was carried out based on publications retrieved from the Scopus database using the VOSViewer software tool. This article analysed 2,638 articles published from 1966 to 2019 on TE. The results showed that since 2009, the number of publications had increased annually and resulted in overall accumulated publications. This study had employed co-authorship among authors and affiliated countries and the co-occurrence of author keywords. Conclusively, 56% of the existing literature on TE produce in Australia, the USA, China, and the UK. However, due to the multidisciplinary complexity noted within this tourism industry, various scientific journals contain articles on TE. Among the most productive tourism experience research universities of 15 leading countries, seven were the world’s top 50 universities for Hospitality and Leisure Management academy. The network visualisation map illustrated that ‘experience’, ‘authenticity’, ‘satisfaction’, and ‘motivation’ emerged as the most encountered terms in the TE research domain. This review concluded with theoretical and practical implications of the study and the directions for future research.