40 Years of Family Tourism Research: Bibliometric Analysis and Remaining Issues

Abstract

Based on a bibliometric analysis of research on family tourism, this editorial intends to reflect on the knowledge development in the topic area in the past 40 years. Eight themes or subject clusters were unveiled: foundations, family roles, place, family structure and function, psychological factors, behavior, experience, and methodology and theory. The trend and patterns of knowledge formation alongside the eight themes are described, visualized, and discussed by two periods of 1978–1999 and 2000-May 2019. The general observation is that despite the remarkable development of family tourism in the past decades, extant research still lacks depth and scope. The seven articles in this collection, by addressing diversified market, various types of attractions, and employing different methods, may enrich the landscape of family tourism.