Evolution of Ecotourism Research in the Context of Sustainable Development Goals: A Bibliometric Analysis (2015-2024)

Abstract

Ecotourism as a tool for achieving sustainable development is gaining increasing importance amidst the structural transformations of the global economy, particularly as the tourism sector contributes approximately 10% to global GDP and provides about 10% of total employment opportunities. The World Tourism Organization has included ecotourism within the pillars of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, recognizing it as a means to maximize economic returns while mitigating negative environmental impacts. The shift towards ecotourism is a direct response to growing pressures on natural resources and rising demand for tourism consumption patterns with low environmental costs. This is reflected in the accelerated growth of specialized scientific production in this field, highlighting the need to analyze research trends to understand the dynamics of ecotourism evolution and its role in supporting sustainable development.

This study aims to delineate the intellectual structure of research on Sustainable Development Goals within the tourism sector, employing a bibliometric analysis of ecotourism literature from 2015 to 2024. This is achieved by identifying and analyzing the relationships between the most influential topics that have shaped the knowledge base of this discipline. The analysis facilitated the examination of publication trends, key subject areas, and productivity by country, author, and journal. Additionally, it explored collaborative networks and the most frequently used keywords.

By employing bibliometric analysis methods and data visualization using the VOSviewer tool and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol, a total of 2430 articles indexed in the Scopus database were analyzed. The findings reveal a significant increase in the number of publications in recent years. The scientific output is concentrated in a limited number of countries and research institutions, and a disparity exists between the productivity and scientific impact of researchers and journals. The results also demonstrate the presence of international research collaboration networks and the dominance of a set of core concepts related to ecotourism and sustainable development within the academic literature during the studied period.