Trend of research on sustainable tourism and climate change in 21st century

Abstract

Purpose Climate change is one of the greatest challenges for policymakers at both the international and national levels in the twenty-first century; there is no exception for the tourism industry, which is one of the most highly climate sensitive sectors. Tourism researchers have continued to explore the relationship between sustainable tourism and climate change to develop a range of effective strategies for policymakers. This paper aims to review published literature in the areas of sustainable tourism and climate change. Design/methodology/approach The review maps sustainable tourism and climate change domains between 1996 and 8 January 2016. The review encompasses 95 published documents obtained from the Scopus database on 8 January 2016. The search terms were “Sustainable Tourism” and “Climate Change” combined with Boolean Operator “AND” in the “Article Title, Abstract, Keywords”. Findings The outcomes of this study are: Identification of trends in research and the most influential papers on sustainable tourism associated with climate change research; evaluation of the contribution of authors, journals and institutions in this area; and guidance for policymakers to develop policies to mitigate the impact of tourist activities on climate change. Research limitations/implications The study provides a basis for communication between academics and practitioners by revealing the research trends in sustainable tourism and climate change and by categorizing the contents of prior studies to provide guidance for future studies. Originality/value The originality of this paper is in determining possible research gaps and thereby providing guidance for future study. The study also makes a practical contribution by addressing the topics of interest to policymakers.