Currently, tourism policy studies are a point of interest for scholars. Many countries make tourism a national strategy (Bassani et al., 2022; Baum, 1994; Pastras & Bramwell, 2013; Santa, 2015), and the effect of this is shown in the growth of world tourism, which has increased in the last two decades. According to Almeida-García (2018) tourism policy is more often interpreted as a national policy than as an economic development process. In theory, tourism policy has the meaning that tourism ‘should’ lead to how policies should be built socially and enforced together (Dredge & Jenkins, 2012). Moreover, Volic (2022) argues that tourism policy is about economic growth, competitiveness, and development. In fact, its development from 2000 to 2019 (see Figure 1) shows an ever-increasing trend: in 2000 it reached more than 600 million visits, over five years increased to 810 million visits, in 2011 increased to 1.003 billion visits, and at half of 2019 was able to reach 1.460 billion visits (World Tourism Organization, 2020).
The data depicting the increasing mobility of tourists for almost two decades has resulted in a large number of countries competing to become tourist-friendly destinations, whether they are small or large, developed or developing, or socialist or democratic; even socialist countries wish to generate revenue from the tourism sector.
The state’s goal is to provide adequate treatment to stakeholders in building networks and to provide input on tourism development through policies in various countries, especially role model countries, in developing the tourism sector: nations such as Germany or Turkey (in five years of growth in 1999). Between 2014 and 2018, the Turkish government focused on developing a skilled workforce, facilities, and a high quality of tourism services to build a solid foundation on which to build the branding of Turkey as we know it today (Akça, 2017). The Chinese government implements sustainable tourism (Xu & Sofield, 2016), through the economic and social development plan in the framework Sustainable Development Goals, to resolve four main issues, particularly social problems, economic opportunities, heritage, and land sustainability (Giorgi et al., 2020). In countries such as Malta and England, the government optimises the tourism sector, as it has excellent potential and can allow the country to build power and overcome previous shortcomings of the country’s tourism industry (Penrose, 2011)). The UK government is also taking intensive action to recover the tourism sector, specifically by creating two cross-border working groups under the State Secretary for Digital, Media, Culture, and Sport supported by the Ministry of Tourism (Department of Digital Culture Media and Sport, 2021) alongside the development of a political economy, where there is state intervention for influencing sustainable tourism (Guo et al., 2019).
Developed countries and developing countries also prove that the tourism sector triggers swift and precise development, such as in Indonesia. It demonstrates that the tourism sector has become one of the primary sources of state foreign currency income in recent years. The government estimates the number of foreign tourists to reach 20 million per year (Ollivaud & Haxton, 2019). Further, the Philippine government divided tourism into three phases through a policy learning approach (Santa, 2015). The Spanish government emphasizes the aspects of sustainable tourism included in the tourism policy framework (López-Sánchez & Pulido-Fernández, 2014). At the completed point presented by Estol and Font (2016), tourism policy in Europe is presented as a tool for sustainable growth and competitiveness. Another more radical mechanism is Myanmar, a country that is government-controlled by the military junta. Internal and external forces strongly influence the tourism sector from political entities in Myanmar, and in this example the complex relationship between tourism and politics is strongly visible (Henderson, 2010), making this an exciting object to explore further.
The empirical facts regarding the interest of many countries in developing the tourism sector academically, especially in research and publication of tourism policy studies, indicates that tourism development is accompanied by the development of science. Several studies on tourism policy include a study from Koufodontis and Gaki (2020), which describes the importance of locality tourism policy. Furthermore, tourism policy has also been researched as a driving force to a sustainable environment (Guo et al., 2019; López-Sánchez & Pulido-Fernández, 2014; Muangasame & McKercher, 2015; Oura, 2018). Tourism policy can also be used as a policy response to create tourist markets in certain regions (Estol & Font, 2016). Although empirical and academic scholars are interested in tourism policy studies, the intellectual structure regarding tourism policy is still limited. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to explore scientific information about tourism policy in a certain period. Researchers used bibliographic data based on the Scopus database.
This article employed a bibliometric analysis to examine the scientific information regarding tourism policy in the Scopus database. Bibliometrics analysis is a branch of knowledge and library science that statistically analyses bibliographic data produced from scientific publications (Robertson et al., 2020; Sánchez et al., 2017). According to Yin et al. (2020), bibliometric analysis is based on the most up-to-date statistical methods and data mining techniques in infometrics. It provides a different viewpoint on a particular topic, allowing for the discovery of previously unknown information. Generally, bibliometrics has two categories of technique, namely, performance analysis and science mapping (Batmunkh et al., 2022; Donthu et al., 2021). Bibliometrics analysis aims to evaluate the nature of development research surrounding the topic
Bibliometric analysis on specific topics has been carried out in various fields. Examples include a study by Miraj et al. (2020) on dry port studies, a study on retirement village development for the elderly (Osei-Kyei et al., 2020), microplastics in marine ecosystems (Pauna et al., 2019), task recommendations in crowdsourcing systems (Yin et al., 2020), entrepreneurial ecosystems and the public sector (Robertson et al., 2020), stem cells in ischemic stroke (Yang et al., 2020), and microplastics in terrestrial ecosystems (He et al., 2020). Bibliometric analysis can also be applied to one journal in a certain period, such as in articles titled ‘Technological Forecasting and Social Change From 1970–2018’ (Shiwangi Singh et al., 2020), the
Bibliometric analysis is a scientific subject that depicts a comprehensive map of knowledge structure, appraisal, and measurement (Herrera-Franco et al., 2020). It focuses on scientific publications that are retrieved from a database. This article was conducted using the Scopus database. Scopus is considered one of the largest international databases covering various documents such as articles, reviews, proceedings, editorials, books, and book chapters across multiple disciplines. Further, the researcher used VOSviewer software (van Eck & Waltman, 2010) to visualize the map. VOSviewer has more exclusive features and can produce futuristic visualisations compared to other bibliometric analysis software. Through the use of two defined weights, such as the quantity and overall strength of the links, the VOSviewer graphically displays the nodal network (Suban et al., 2021). In this research, researchers import CSV (Comma Separated Values) data on tourism policies from the Scopus database to VOSviewer and apply co-occurrence features to visualize a bibliometric network. For more detail, this article adopted four phases, as shown in Figure 2.
Based on Figure 3, discussions and journals related to tourism policy continue to develop over time; from 1982 to 1984, eight journals were published by several different authors. The debate is increasingly diverse; one journal cannot separate the link between tourism growth and economic development. The advantages gained since the development of the tourism sector are not proportional to the losses obtained (Krippendorf, 1982). The tourism policy issued should consider the sustainability of the next life; this policymaking is also a form of political transformation in the tourism sector.
The first article on tourism policy appeared in 1976; the discussion focused on the definition and reasons why a tourism policy was needed to see the impact on society of policies issued from the government (Sessa, 1976). In a quotation from the article, the author also provides an ending in his writing, which explains how tourism policy can be beneficial and become a clear link for the application of economic theory in practice. So, this article acts as momentum for the emergence of a study on tourism policy with a more diverse study area (Figure 4).
At that time, the development of tourism policies was urgently needed to support future sustainability in tourism and recreation (van Doorn, 1982). During this time, it was deemed necessary to study tourism policy further to address future needs (Edgell, 1983). Tourism policy also changed China, which used tourism for political benefits and tourism development (Richter, 1983).
Figure 4 explains that tourism policy not only concerns and focuses on the scope of tourism, but also relates to other areas outside of tourism. Tourism policy figures indicate that 48% of policies relate to social science, 40% relate to business and accounting management, and 7% relate to the environmental field. A smaller few percent indicate that tourism policy is linked to the arts and humanities, earth and planetary sciences, economics, econometrics and finance, energy, and engineering. This shows that the study of tourism policy attracts social science researchers, especially in relation to politics and policy (Helmy, 2014; Richter, 1983). Tourism policy is a determinant towards the improvement or detriment of a country; suitable and appropriate tourism policies can lead to benefits including a good environment and air quality for a country (Hamaguchi, 2020). The elevated level of domestic tourism has also become a business field generated by good tourism policies to support domestic tourism development (Warisman & Muda, 2019).
For 44 years, tourism policy studies have involved many authors from various institutions and countries; Figure 5 shows the top ten authors who have published the most articles on tourism policy. B. Bramwell has written the most articles, followed by T. Baum, E. Dela Santa, and H.Q. Zhang, with the same number of publications. One of the articles by B. Bramwell discusses the relational approach to understanding policymaking, the actors involved, and discussions that align with it in the realm of tourism policy (Bramwell & Meyer, 2007). The top authors have published at least two to three articles discussing tourism policy within a reasonable timeframe.
Figure 6 shows the number of universities that have successfully affiliated with some of the top authors in their publications. The first order was occupied by the
One of the studies affiliated with
Figure 7 shows data on the authors of tourism policy articles, dominated mainly by authors from developed countries such as the United Kingdom, followed by the United States, as well as Australia, Spain, New Zealand, Canada, and China. Greece, Italy, and Japan are countries that have provided the least articles. The cooperation of tourism interest groups with the government to shape existing policies (Tyler & Dinan, 2001) has become one of the research topics originating from the United Kingdom. Furthermore, other articles discuss tourism policy development due to technological developments, product differentiation, and the development of management styles in the tourism industry (Fayos-Solá, 1996). An article from China discusses tourism policies that aim to promote sustainability as an indispensable aspect of tourism, so that the tourism sector does not backfire (Xu & Sofield, 2016). This is also a concern for authors from developing countries, and it can be concluded that this study of tourism policy has not become one of the main topics studied by authors in developing countries. Tourism policy is also a primary and sensitive matter related to the country’s economic and political sectors.
In Table 1, the authors have described the most cited research. One of the top studies is
The most cited research
1 | A typology of governance and its implications for tourism policy analysis | Michael Hall, C. | Journal of Sustainable Tourism 19(4–5), pp. 437–457 | 228 |
2 | Improving tourism policy implementation - The use of hybrid MCDM models | Liu, C.-H., Tzeng, G.-H., Lee, M.-H. | Tourism Management 33(2), pp. 413–426 | 143 |
3 | An analysis of tourism policy development in modern China | Zhang, H.Q., Chong, K., Ap, J. | Tourism Management 20(4), pp. 471–485 | 139 |
4 | Tourism policy in the making: An Australian network study | Pforr, C. | Annals of Tourism Research 33(1), pp. 87–108 | 134 |
5 | The sustainable performance index for tourism policy development | Castellani, V., Sala, S. | Tourism Management 31(6), pp. 871–880 | 133 |
6 | The impact of globalization on small and medium enterprises: New challenges for tourism policies in European countries | Smeral, E. . | Tourism Management 19(4), pp. 371–380 | 127 |
7 | Power and tourism policy relations in transition | Bramwell, B., Meyer, D. | Annals of Tourism Research 34(3), pp. 766–788 | 126 |
8 | Destination, place, identity, and regional tourism policy [Identite de lieu de destinations et prises de decision en tourisme au niyeau regional] | Dredge, D., Jenkins, J. | Tourism Geographies 5(4), pp. 383–407 | 111 |
9 | Tourism policy making: The policymakers' perspective | Stevenson, N., Airey, D., Miller, G. | Annals of Tourism Research 35(3), pp. 732–750 | 107 |
10 | Towards new tourism policies: The importance of environmental and sociocultural factors | Krippendorf, J. | Tourism Management 3(3), pp. 135–148 | 9 |
Tourism provides convenient benefits for workers, women, the economy, and agriculture, and strengthens the economic sector of developing countries (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 2010). Tourism policy has finally become an important instrument and focuses on studies in research in developed countries. The ten most influential articles are presented in the table below and focus on sustainable tourism. The authors’ focus on sustainability indicates that the tourism sector, policy, government, and human resources are a straight line for the sustainability of the tourism economy while still paying attention to environmental issues (Baum, 2018; Bramwell, 1991; Guo et al., 2019).
Figure 8 and Table 2 explain the coverage related to the study of tourism policy, where each cluster has many strongly connected concepts. In the case study, cluster 1 is included in tourism policy. The initial discussion on tourism policy captured in the data refers to an article exploring the beginning of tourism policy that acts as the basis for economic development in various institutions and countries (Sessa, 1976). It is also discussed in another article regarding the dominant government involvement in tourism policymaking and initiatives for developing destinations in various policy schemes. These are instances where the government has a critical role in integrating various actors, on both local and national scales, to build a suitable superstructure (Pastras & Bramwell, 2013). Following this, when everything is integrated, there is a joint policy that will have the same commitment carried out (Liasidou, 2018).
Clusterization by VOSviewer
01 | Cluster 1 | Development, economic policy, government, marketing, planning, policy, policy approach, policy development, strategic approach, tourism, tourism policy. | Red | 11 |
02 | Cluster 2 | Competitiveness, economic growth, economic impact, governance, human resource, recreational policy, regulatory framework, rural development, rural tourism, tourism economics | Green | 10 |
03 | Cluster 3 | Complexity, decision making, developing world, governance approach, innovation, policy implementation, policy strategy, tourism market, tourist destination | Blue | 9 |
04 | Cluster 4 | Comparative study, heritage tourism, implementation, policy analysis, public policy, sustainable development, sustainable tourism, tourism management, tourism attraction | Yellow | 9 |
05 | Cluster 5 | Ecotourism, integrated approach, policymaking, stakeholder, sustainability | Purple | 5 |
06 | Cluster 6 | International tourism, tourism development, tourism policy | Tosca | 3 |
The primary key in this cluster 2 is competitiveness, where all elements that support competitiveness have comprehensive relevance in increasing the competitiveness of tourism resources that refer to international standards that are friendly to various tourism components. These are instances where tourism leads to economic growth and positively impacts development, and meets the community’s tourism needs (Panasiuk, 2021).
In cluster 3, policy implementation has relatively high complexity, with the MCDM (multiple criteria decision making) method (Liu et al., 2012) with the identification of tourism policies being a complex thing. Policy implementation cannot be seen only in one aspect of tourism when attempting to optimise tourism policies in each country (Suno et al., 2021). By increasing the multi-actor and multi-dimensional creations created by the government, the approach to achieving tourist destinations must be multi-faceted and innovate together.
Cluster 4, which will lead to the improvement of tourism management with a holistic approach, can evaluate national tourism policies with the dynamics in policy implementation. In tourism, management is a public policy, and it can be a balance between stakeholders both in building and preserving heritage and tourism attractions (C.-H. Liu et al., 2012).
Cluster 5 is included in the concentration of ecotourism, and how the impact of tourist movement activities, if not appropriately managed, will gradually cause problems in the long term (Hamaguchi, 2019). Tourism will become an essential for the global community for recreational purposes in many various regions until people leave the area. National boundaries become essential when sustainable tourism is considered through ecotourism, which requires support from all parties to formulate policies implemented in various countries. Tourism has a vital role in climate change, and as it does not receive intensive attention from various parties directly related to tourism, the government must use an integrated approach between networks such as China, Fiji, and New Zealand (Becken & Clapcott, 2011; Xu & Sofield, 2015). In cluster 6, with the downstreaming and stabilisation of national tourism, many countries start to compete to get an enormous foreign exchange income from this sector, and the development of international tourism is the opening road for development.
Figure 9 describes the relationship clusters from various countries. The cluster (red) shows the relationship between Italy, Canada, China, and Australia, divided into three interrelated clusters. A published article from the cluster discusses tourism policymaking using the Territory Tourism Development Masterplan (TDMP) method in the northern region of Australia as a new area for tourism development targets in Australia (Pforr, 2001). The second cluster (green) is filled by United Kingdom, Spain, and Greece. Articles published from Spain raised the issue of climate change, which is a strong concern in Spain’s tourism sector; it is known that Spain became the third most visited country by tourists in 2014, and adjustments to tourism policies were made by the Spanish government to reduce global warming effects (Cantos & Rebollo, 2016).
Furthermore, the last cluster (blue) consists of the United States and New Zealand. Articles that appear from the United States have similarities with articles from Spain, namely climate change. Climate change is a problem for Barbados, with many areas dominated by the sea and coast. Policy actors and tourism owners have begun to work together to deal with this issue because Barbados made tourism the main driver of their economy (Belle & Bramwell, 2005).
Figure 10 shows the journals that often publish articles on tourism policy. Meanwhile, the journals are divided into three interrelated clusters. Articles published in the first cluster (red), one of which is published in the journal
The study of tourism policy has become an appealing topic in practice and the development of science. This study aims to explore the study of tourism policy bibliographically. In this article, it was found that the article that first discussed tourism policy appeared in 1976, written by A. Sessa, which was published in the journal
This review study maps out six clusters of 159 articles obtained from the Scopus database related to ‘Tourism Policy.’ The mapping of these clusters was accomplished using Vosviewer. The six clusters include the following: Cluster 1: development, economic policy, government, marketing, planning, policy, policy approach, policy development, strategic approach, tourism, tourism policy. Cluster 2: Competitiveness, economic growth, economic impact, governance, human resources, recreational policy, regulatory framework, rural development, rural tourism, tourism economics. Cluster 3: Complexity, decision making, developing world, governance approach, innovation, policy implementation, policy strategy, tourism market, tourist destination. Cluster 4: Comparative study, heritage tourism, implementation, policy analysis, public policy, sustainable development, sustainable tourism, tourism management, tourism attraction. Cluster 5: Ecotourism, integrated approach, policymaking, stakeholder, sustainability. Cluster 6: International tourism, tourism development, tourism policy.
The cluster results above contribute to the mapping of studies on tourism policy developing in the international world, making it easier for scholars to conduct subsequent research. The discussion of tourism policy is multidisciplinary following current developments. This research has both theoretical and practical aspects. Theoretically, it makes a significant contribution to a conceptual framework for tourism policy by trend and mapping research. Practically, our research conveys accumulated and synthesized domain knowledge for policymakers and key stakeholders to help them design, initiate, implement, manage, and evaluate the topic of tourism policy.
A bibliometric analysis of the research subjects used in this study adds to the body of knowledge on tourism policy. However, it has limitations that should be addressed for future research. The sustainability issues (ecotourism) and international tourism have become two of the major subjects that could greatly influence the course of future tourism policy research. This article provides scientific information on a particular topic using only the Scopus database. Therefore, it is suggested that the other researchers can use another international indexation database, one of which is Clarivate Analytics/Web of Sciences (WoS), or even compare the databases of the two indexations. Furthermore, this research considers keywords based on the findings from previous literature in the one scope. Additional keywords from outside the scope of this research are proposed to be included in future studies, as the generalization and objective of this study may have omitted or neglected other keywords. We also recommend that the subsequent study include other methodological approaches that could improve the validity and reliability of its findings.