Analyzing Research Patterns And Impact Of Natural Heritage And Tourism: A Bibliometric Study

Abstract

The term "natural heritage" refers to natural features, geological and physiographical formations, and defined regions that constitute the habitat of endangered species of animals and plants, as well as natural locations that are valuable from the perspective of research, conservation, or natural beauty. Natural areas that are protected by the government and private organisations, zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, natural habitats, marine ecosystems, sanctuaries, reservoirs, and other lands are included in this category. The tourism sector has produced a significant volume of information related to Natural Heritage. The significant impact of researchers' contributions on the advancement of knowledge in various scientific fields is generally recognized. Therefore, it is crucial to assess this growing reservoir of information in order to ascertain the present condition of the field. The main objective of this study is to analyze the different research patterns in the literature on Natural Heritage and assess the development, progress, and influence of authors, sources, and countries on Natural Heritage. The data was obtained from publications sourced from the Scopus database, covering the time period from 2008 to 2023. Following the filtering process, a grand total of 157 articles were obtained for examination utilizing the VOS viewer program. Our bibliometric analysis of the intersection between "Natural Heritage" and "Tourism" indicated that the year 2023 had the highest volume of published works. China is the first nation in terms of contributions, having produced 25 articles. The 2011 study undertaken by Ramkissoon et al., which was accepted for publication in the journal "Current Issues in Tourism," has received 191 citations as of 2023, making it the most referenced study up to this point. There is evidence to suggest that the accumulation of information about Natural Heritage is expanding