Bibliometric Review on Religious Tourism Studies

Given that religious tourism has become a topic of interest not only among religious followers and pilgrims but also among ordinary tourists, researchers in this field have taken notice. The aim of this study is to examine the global trend of research on religious tourism, as well as the current and future research directions in this area. To this end, a review of existing literature on religious tourism was conducted using bibliometric and visualization methods. After applying input and output criteria, a total of 412 articles were extracted from the Web of Science database and analyzed using VOS viewer software. The findings indicate an upward quantitative trend in publication and citation rates, with the highest number of published papers occurring in 2021 and the highest number of citations in 2022. Additionally, descriptive data revealed the most frequently cited articles, researchers, journals, and universities. Analysis of keyword co-occurrence demonstrated that the most commonly occurring words included religious tourism, pilgrimage, tourism, and spiritual tourism. Findings also indicate that much of the research in this field has focused on conceptualizing and distinguishing between religious and pilgrimage tourism and understanding travelers' motivations in a religious context. Moving forward, future studies in this area should consider experiential marketing and tourist experience, as well as Service-Dominant Logic and value co-creation theories.

Undoubtedly, religious tourism has become a significant area in tourism sector. In contemporary times, tourists visit religious sites not only for spiritual reasons but also in pursuit of cultural and historical significance (Kim et al., 2020; Romanelli et al., 2021). Notably, within religious and pilgrimage tourism, both spiritual and non-spiritual elements coexist, making it arduous to differentiate between the two (Griffin, 2007). While pilgrimage tourism involves performing religious rituals in sacred places with the primary intention of worship, religious tourism does not necessarily require adherence to specific religious beliefs or practices (Kujawa, 2017). In addition to tourism activists, academics have also shown interest in this type of tourism, and many articles, books, and articles have been published related to this topic. In spite of that, to date, no bibliometric investigation has been conducted on religious tourism. Therefore, this research aims to undertake a bibliometric review of religious tourism to ascertain past and future research trends and identify areas requiring further exploration.
 

The present research is characterized as a descriptive-analytical study that utilizes bibliometric analysis to examine a specific research field. The use of bibliometric analysis as a quantitative method in this research is well-established in academic literature and enables scholars to gain valuable insights into various aspects of a research field. The choice of the Web of Science database was made due to its established reputation as a reliable and standardized source for bibliometric analysis. After applying filters and selecting appropriate keywords, a total number of 412 articles were identified and subjected to further analysis. In this regard, the complete bibliometric information of these studies, including their title, abstract, organizational affiliation, and sources, were extracted from the database and subsequently analyzed using VOS Viewer software. This methodology aims to identify the structures and trends within the specified research topic, thereby enhancing our understanding of the subject matter.

The results of the investigation indicate an upward trend in the quantitative publication and citation rates of religious tourism research. The year 2021 had the highest number of publications, with 52 studies, while the peak for citations was observed in 2022, with 967 citations. Moreover, the most highly cited article, author, journal, country, and university were identified. Accordingly, "Forms of Religious Tourism" recognized as the most cited article, "Rinschede, G" recognized as the most cited author, "Annals of Tourism Research" recognized as the most cited journal, "Australia" recognized as the most cited country and "University of Haifa" recognized as the most cited university in this field. After conducting a co-authorship analysis, the study was able to identify eight clusters of active countries that have contributed significantly to knowledge production in the field of religious tourism research. This analysis provides valuable insights into the collaborative networks and patterns of international cooperation among researchers working on religious tourism. Furthermore, the keyword co-occurrence analysis revealed that "Pilgrimage," "Tourism," and "Spiritual tourism" were the most commonly used terms in religious tourism research.

The increase in the number of articles and citations pertaining to religious tourism signifies its growing importance as an academic field and highlights the attention it has garnered from researchers. Among the topics that have recently received attention in this field, the experience of religious tourists and pilgrims is one such area that is still in its nascent stages, as corroborated by the Keywords Co-occurrence analysis. Previous studies have primarily focused on the trip experience, whereas a comprehensive understanding of the tourist's experience necessitates an examination of all three phases, namely before, during, and after the trip. This highlights the dynamic nature of the tourist experience. By comparing developments in tourism research with those in religious tourism, research gaps can be identified. Experiential marketing and Service-dominant logic-related theories are areas that require further exploration in religious tourism, as they have yet to receive much attention in this field.