Page 171 - GHES-3-1

Global Health Economics and
Sustainability

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Assessing the intersection of tourism and

sustainable development: A bibliometric
analysis from the perspectives of medicine,

health, therapy, and wellness

2
Songyu Jiang 1 and Shu Li *
1 Rattanakosin International College of Creative Entrepreneurship, Rajamangala University of
Technology Rattanakosin, Salaya, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand
2 Tourism School, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

Abstract

This study employs bibliometric techniques to construct a comprehensive
knowledge map encompassing medical, health, therapy, and wellness (MHTW)
tourism for sustainable development. It also aims to detail collaborations between
Academic editor: authors, institutions, and countries; analyze keywords; and identify research trends.
Mihajlo Jakovljevic M.D. Ph.D. MAE
The study is based on the Web of Science database and utilizes the Citespace
*Corresponding author: software to analyze 318 relevant publications from 2014 to 2024, constructing
Shu Li
(lishu27@stu.scu.edu.cn) author coauthorship networks, institutional coauthorship networks, and keyword
co-occurrence networks, as well as performing prominence and cluster analyses
Citation: Jiang, S. & Li, S.
(2025). Assessing the intersection of keywords. Findings reveal a significant growth trend since 2014 in publications
of tourism and sustainable on the integration of MHTW tourism and the advancement of sustainable tourism.
development: A bibliometric analysis Prominent researchers include Lin, Hsiao-Hsien, Hsu, Chin-Hsien, Ariza-Montes,
from the perspectives of medicine,
health, therapy, and wellness. Antonic, Han, and Heesup, along with several closely collaborating research teams.
Global Health Econ Sustain, The United States, China, and Spain lead the research output. The National Chin-Yi
3(1):163-184. University of Technology and the Australian National University are preeminently
https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.4149
positioned in sustainable research, and new contributors such as Qingdao University
Received: July 5, 2024 are emerging and facilitating wider research efforts. Furthermore, the research
1st revised: August 27, 2024 agenda highlights the health concept in tourism and promotes MHTW tourism for
the sustainable development of societies, economies, and the environment. Future
2nd revised: September 4, 2024
research should emphasize international collaborations and promote knowledge
Accepted: September 9, 2024 sharing and resource integration to collectively address global health challenges.
Published online: October 24, Moreover, scholarly attention on the application of emerging technologies in MHTW
2024 tourism can enhance service quality and sustainability to achieve a harmonious
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s). balance of economic, social, and environmental benefits.
This is an Open-Access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution Keywords: Sustainable tourism; Health tourism; Medical tourism; Bibliometric analysis;
License, permitting distribution, International collaboration
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is
properly cited.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with 1. Introduction
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional Tourism for sustainable development now represents a pivotal sector for the promotion
affiliations. of holistic health strategies (Sharpley, 2020). Health is emerging as a prominent

Volume 3 Issue 1 (2025) 163 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.4149