Tourism and Environmental Impact: A Bibliometric Analysis of Two Decades of Research

Abstract

Research Objectives and Scope: This study systematically maps the intellectual structure, thematic evolution, and collaborative networks within tourism–environment–climate change research from 2000 to 2026. Data were extracted from the Scopus database, yielding a corpus of 706 documents across 265 sources, capturing key dimensions such as carbon footprint, climate change adaptation, sustainable tourism, and ecological degradation.

Methodology: A multi-method bibliometric framework was employed, integrating descriptive performance analysis — evaluating publication trends, leading authors, and journals — with advanced science mapping techniques including keyword co-occurrence network analysis, Callon-based strategic thematic mapping, Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA), and trend topic visualization, implemented via Bibliometrix.

Key Findings: The corpus of 706 documents demonstrates a robust annual growth rate of 13.18%, with an average of 44.19 citations per document, produced by 1,841 authors across 265 sources. Scientific output accelerated markedly after 2015, coinciding with the adoption of the Paris Agreement and the SDGs. China led in publication volume (75 documents, 10.6%), followed by Australia and the United States, while Canada exhibited the highest rate of international co-authorship (48.6%). Strategic thematic mapping identified "environmental degradation" and "tourism policy" as Motor Themes — intellectually mature and central to broader scholarly debates — while "carbon footprint" and "environmental impact assessment" occupy Niche status, reflecting methodological depth without full cross-disciplinary integration. "Climate change," "sustainable tourism," and "sustainability" function as Basic Themes — the shared conceptual vocabulary of the field — yet remain theoretically diffuse. MCA revealed a structural bifurcation between adaptation-focused, socio-ecological research and quantitatively oriented carbon-accounting approaches, with a cumulative explanatory variance of 62.94%. Temporal trend analysis delineated three evolutionary phases: a pre-2015 descriptive phase centered on foundational environmental impacts; a transitional phase (2015–2019) marked by rapid consolidation around climate change governance; and a post-2020 phase characterized by increasing methodological precision, carbon quantification, and policy-oriented discourse. Critically, structurally absent themes — including artificial intelligence, climate justice, degrowth, sustainable aviation fuel, and digital twin technologies — represent the field's most consequential knowledge gaps.

Implications: This study provides a comprehensive roadmap for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners, highlighting five strategic research priorities: integrating AI and machine learning into tourism climate monitoring; embedding climate justice and equity frameworks into carbon policy analysis; operationalizing Paris Agreement targets at the destination scale; addressing aviation decarbonization through demand-side governance and sustainable aviation fuel research; and legitimizing degrowth and alternative mobility paradigms as analytically necessary responses to the fundamental incompatibility between tourism's growth trajectory and Paris-aligned emission targets.