Bibliometric Analysis of Health Tourism Literature: The ‘DergiPark’ Example For 2019-2024

Abstract

 Purpose: The health tourism sector, which has become increasingly important in recent years, has led to an increase in academic studies in this field and the formation of a large data in the field. The aim of this study is to comprehensively examine health tourism studies through bibliometric analysis.

Methods: In line with the aim of the study, the DergiPark database was searched using the keyword “health tourism.” The search was limited to research articles published in the years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. As a result, a total of 147 articles were identified. The data obtained from these articles were classified using the bibliometric analysis method. The classification criteria included journal types, publication years, number of authors, citation counts, and research methods used. The findings and tables were prepared using Microsoft Word.

Results:  It shows that the most publications on health tourism were made in 2022, the most common journals are “Journal of Travel and Tourism Research” and “Pamukkale University Journal of Institute of Social Sciences”, the publications are mostly two-authored and quantitative research methods are more preferred. In addition, it was determined that the most cited studies were articles focusing on the economic dimensions of health tourism and its current situation and future in Turkey.

Conclusions: This research provides an important resource to understand the current status of studies in the field of health tourism, to identify publication trends in this field and to guide future studies. Health tourism attracts attention as a growing and constantly developing sector at the global level, and the number and diversity of studies in this field is expected to increase.