The Progress and Evolution Trends of World Literary Tourism Research: A Comparative Analysis Based on Content and Bibliometric Methods from International and Chinese Journals
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53596/jzcg0d90Keywords:
literary places; cultural tourism; interdisciplinary scholarship; knowledge mapping; CiteSpace.Abstract
This study aims to objectively interpret the research progress of literary tourism through content analysis and to employ bibliometric visualisation software for statistical data analysis in order to explore the development, evolution, and stage characteristics of literary tourism. It uses the China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Web of Science databases as sources, selects 200 literary tourism publications from 1993 to 2023, and analyses the selected publications in terms of their basic features, author collaboration, and institutional cooperation, key areas and research frontiers. The study found that literary tourism has become a research field with rich themes and interdisciplinary characteristics in its development and evolution. Literary tourism research has formed a stable core periodical group, and the number of published articles has shown steady progress. Although the cooperation network is extensive, greater international academic exchange is still needed. Scholars worldwide focus on the four research hotspots of cultural tourism relations, literary tourism market, literary tourism resources, and literary tourism destinations. Future research will likely develop in the direction of the integration of culture and tourism, which also signals a new stage in cultural tourism development.
Downloads
References
An, N., Zhu, H., & Liu, C. (2014). The reconstruction of literary tourist destination: A case study of Fenghuang. Scientia Geographica Sinica, 34(12), 1462–1469. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.2014.012.1462
Anderson, J., & Smith, K. (2022). Attuning to the affective in literary tourism: Emotional states in Aberystwyth, Mon Amour. Tourism Geographies, 24(2–3), 435–456. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2019.1674372
Baleiro, R., & Quinteiro, S. (2019). A small place, by Jamaica Kincaid: Envisioning literary tourism in Antigua. Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 17(6), 676–688. https://doi.org/10.1080/14766825.2018.1529772
Brown, L. (2016). Tourism and pilgrimage: Paying homage to literary heroes. International Journal of Tourism Research, 18(2), 167–175. https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.2043
Bu, N. T., Pan, S., Kong, H., Fu, X., & Lin, B. (2021). Profiling literary tourists: A motivational perspective. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 22, Article 100659. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2021.100659
Busby, G., & Klug, J. (2001). Movie-induced tourism: The challenge of measurement and other issues. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 7(4), 316–332. https://doi.org/10.1177/135676670100700403
Çevik, S. (2020). Literary tourism as a field of research over the period 1997–2016. European Journal of Tourism Research, 24, Article 2407. https://doi.org/10.54055/ejtr.v24i.409
Chen, W. (2001). Comparison between bibliometric method and content analysis method. Information Science, 19(8), 884–886. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1007-7634.2001.08.031
de la Montaña Rojo, E., & Soto Vázquez, J. (2022). Las rutas literarias en Extremadura como herramienta educativa y turística: Una revisión bibliográfica. Lenguaje y Textos, (55), 83–92. https://doi.org/10.4995/lyt.2022.17133
Driscoll, B. (2014). The new literary middlebrow: Tastemakers and reading in the twenty-first century. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137402929
Effron, M. (2021). Reshaping reality: Mystery fiction literary tourism and its effect on real-world spaces. The Journal of Popular Culture, 54(6), 1371–1393. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpcu.13087
Evans, N. (2020). The book, the tourist and the corpse in the garden: Object lessons from Julian Barnes’ Flaubert’s Parrot and Michel Houellebecq’s La Carte et le Territoire. Textual Practice, 34(6), 949–974. https://doi.org/10.1080/0950236X.2018.1518925
Fawcett, C., & Cormack, P. (2001). Guarding authenticity at literary tourism sites. Annals of Tourism Research, 28(3), 686–704. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0160-7383(00)00062-1
Fermor, D. (2022). In Byron’s footsteps, through Byron’s eyes: Literary tourism and imagined geographies of southern Albania. Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 24(2), 240–262. https://doi.org/10.1080/19448953.2021.2006012
Ferreira, A., Alén, E., Liberato, P., & Liberato, D. (2020). Literary tourism: A cultural trip? In Á. Rocha, A. Abreu, J. V. de Carvalho, D. Liberato, E. Alén González, & P. Liberato (Eds.), Advances in tourism, technology and smart systems (pp. 505–515). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2024-2_44
Fu, L., & Jia, H. (2008). A preliminary study on the development of literary resources tourism in Nanjing. Journal of Southeast University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), (S1), 173–176. https://doi.org/10.13916/j.cnki.issn1671-511x.2008.s1.074
Herbert, D. (2001). Literary places, tourism and the heritage experience. Annals of Tourism Research, 28(2), 312–333. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0160-7383(00)00048-7
Herbert, D. T. (1996). Artistic and literary places in France as tourist attractions. Tourism Management, 17(2), 77–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/0261-5177(95)00110-7
Hoppen, A., Brown, L., & Fyall, A. (2014). Literary tourism: Opportunities and challenges for the marketing and branding of destinations. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 3(1), 37–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2013.12.009
Hu, X., & Yang, X. (2021). Frontier poems and the Great Wall tourism in Gansu: Implications coupling and multiple identities. Journal of Northwest Minzu University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), (4), 138–148. https://doi.org/10.14084/j.cnki.cn62-1185/c.2021.04.009
Hu, Z., Sun, J., & Wu, Y. (2013). A review of domestic knowledge graph application research. Library and Information Service, 57(3), 131–137, 84. https://doi.org/10.7536/j.issn.0252-3116.2013.03.024
Huang, D. (1996). A brief discussion on the development and utilization of “Water Margin” tourism resources in western Zhejiang. Tourism Tribune, (3), 35–37. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1002-5006.1996.03.010
Jiang, L., Chen, Y., & Li, T. (2023). Exploring “Mysteries”: Re-understanding of Literary Landscape as Tourism Attraction. Tourism Tribune, 38(9), 132–141. https://doi.org/10.19765/j.cnki.1002-5006.2023.09.012
Jiang, L., & Xu, H. (2016). Reading, tourism, and geography consumption in literary places. Tourism Geographies, 18(5), 483–502. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2016.1217033
Jiang, L., & Xu, H. (2017). The growth of literary places in ancient town tourism destinations: Based on the theories of Bourdieu, Danto and Dickie. Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 15(3), 213–228. https://doi.org/10.1080/14766825.2016.1148153
Johnson, N. C. (2004). Fictional journeys: Paper landscapes, tourist trails and Dublin’s literary texts. Social & Cultural Geography, 5(1), 91–107. https://doi.org/10.1080/1464936042000181335
Kang, X. (2019). Review of Chinese literary tourism research. Tourism Today, (3), 94–96.
Ke, L., Yin, S., & Liu, W. (2018). Bibliometric analysis of China's marine ecological economy based on CiteSpace. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 38(15), 5602–5610. https://doi.org/10.5846/stxb201803220569
Knipp, R. (2016). Everyday uses of literature: Literary tourism and Joyce's Ulysses. LiLi: Zeitschrift für Literaturwissenschaft und Linguistik, 46(4), 479–497. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41244-016-0037-z
López Lara, E. J. (2022). Turismo, literatura y geografía en Tánger: Rutas literarias de uso turístico. Cuadernos de Turismo, (49), 131–148. https://doi.org/10.6018/turismo.521821
Lee, Y., & Weaver, D. (2014). The tourism area life cycle in Kim Yujeong literary village, Korea. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 19(2), 181–198. https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2012.735681
Li, F. (2019). Study of development and utilization of literature tourism resources. In Proceedings of the 2018 International Workshop on Education Reform and Social Sciences (ERSS 2018) (pp. 22–26). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/erss-18.2019.5
Li, Q., Han, G., Zhang, A., & Xu, H. (2014). Bibliometric and content analysis of China's tourism geography research from 1979 to 2012. Tourism Tribune, 29(9), 110–119. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1002-5006.2014.09.011
Li, T., & Jiang, L. (2019). Hierarchical structure of literary tourism products: Based on multi-case comparison analysis. Journal of Sichuan Normal University (Social Science Edition), (02), 93–100. https://doi.org/10.13734/j.cnki.1000-5315.2019.02.012
Liberato, P., Sargo, S., & Liberato, D. (2018). Specificities of the public of literary festivals in the segment of cultural events. In Proceedings of the 32nd International Business Information Management Association Conference: Vision 2020: Sustainable Economic Development and Application of Innovation Management (pp. 2650–2662). International Business Information Management Association.
Liu, A. (2021). Literary image, landscape narrative and cultural reshaping: An investigation on the mutual construction between Shen Congwen's The Border Town and the Border Town in Xiangxi. Journal of Jishou University (Social Sciences Edition), 42(5), 124–131. https://doi.org/10.13438/j.cnki.jdxb.2021.05.014
Liu, C., Zhu, H., & An, N. (2014). The sociocultural construction of literary places: A case study of Fenghuang. Tourism Tribune, 29(7), 68–76. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1002-5006.2014.07.008
Liu, H., Ming, Q., & Wang, D. (2015). A mechanism analysis of the implicit construction of tourism image of places by literary and artistic works. Areal Research and Development, 34(2), 120–124. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1003-2363.2015.02.021
Liu, Z., & Luo, S. (2020). Research progress and trends of red tourism in China: A CiteSpace-based analysis (2009–2019). Social Scientist, (11), 44–49. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1002-3240.2020.11.008
Lois González, R. C., & Lopez, L. (2020). Liminality wanted: Liminal landscapes and literary spaces along the Way of St. James. Tourism Geographies, 22(2), 433–453. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2019.1647452
Ma, L., & Wang, Y. (2013). The sociocultural construction of tourist destination image: A perspective of text and context—Focus on Phoenix city in Sichuan Province. Academic Research, (3), 65–71. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1000-7326.2013.03.010
MacLeod, N. (2021). ‘A faint whiff of cigar’: The literary tourist’s experience of visiting writers’ homes. Current Issues in Tourism, 24(9), 1211–1226. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2020.1765996
McGuckin, M. (2023). Exploring literary festivals in Ireland. International Journal of Event and Festival Management, 14(4), 523–536. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEFM-01-2023-0009
Mintel Group. (2011). Literary tourism—International. Mintel International Group.
Moncla, L., Gaio, M., Joliveau, T., Le Lay, Y. F., Boeglin, N., & Mazagol, P. O. (2019). Mapping urban fingerprints of odonyms automatically extracted from French novels. International Journal of Geographical Information Science, 33(12), 2477–2497. https://doi.org/10.1080/13658816.2019.1584804
O'Connor, N., & Kim, S. (2014). Pictures and prose: Exploring the impact of literary and film tourism. Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 12(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/14766825.2013.862253
Otay Demir, F., Yavuz Görkem, Ş., & Rafferty, G. (2022). An inquiry into the potential of computational literary techniques for destination branding and literary tourism. Current Issues in Tourism, 25(5), 764–778. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2021.1887100
Pearce, P. L. (1990). Farm tourism in New Zealand: A social situation analysis. Annals of Tourism Research, 17(3), 337–352. https://doi.org/10.1016/0160-7383(90)90002-9
Peng, D. (2017). Tourism myth-making: A case study of the ancient city of Fenghuang in western Hunan Province. Tourism Tribune, 32(9), 34–46. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1002-5006.2017.09.009
Poria, Y., Airey, D., & Butler, R. (2001). Challenging the present approach to heritage tourism: Is tourism to heritage places heritage tourism? Tourism Review, 56(1–2), 51–53. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb058358
Qiu, J., & Zou, F. (2004). A study of content analysis methods. Journal of Library Science in China, 30(2), 12–17. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1001-8867.2004.02.002
Quinteiro, S., Carreira, V., & Gonçalves, A. R. (2020). Coimbra as a literary tourism destination: Landscapes of literature. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 14(3), 361–372. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCTHR-10-2019-0176
Robertson, M., & Yeoman, I. (2014). Signals and signposts of the future: Literary festival consumption in 2050. Tourism Recreation Research, 39(3), 321–342. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2014.11087004
Rossetti, G., & Quinn, B. (2021). Understanding the cultural potential of rural festivals: A conceptual framework of cultural capital development. Journal of Rural Studies, 86, 46–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.05.009
Ryan, C., Zhang, Y., Gu, H., & Song, L. (2009). Tourism, a classic novel, and television: The case of Dream of the Red Mansions and Grand View Gardens, Beijing. Journal of Travel Research, 48(1), 14–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287508328796
Safei, M., Tambi, N., & Rozali, E. A. (2021). Usman Awang and Sedili: Global connections to literary tourism. Geografia: Malaysian Journal of Society and Space, 17(2), 340–354. https://doi.org/10.17576/geo-2021-1702-26
Saretzki, A. (2013). Literary trails, urban space and the actualization of heritage. Almatourism – Journal of Tourism, Culture and Territorial Development, 4(8), 61–77. https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2036-5195/4061
Spooner, E. (2014). Touring with Jane Austen. Critical Survey, 26(1), 42–58. https://doi.org/10.3167/cs.2014.260104
Squire, S. J. (1994). The cultural values of literary tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 21(1), 103–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/0160-7383(94)90007-8
Squire, S. J. (1996). Literary tourism and sustainable tourism: Promoting Anne of Green Gables in Prince Edward Island. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 4(3), 119–134. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669589608667263
Sui, X., & Liu, X. (2018). Review of Chinese literary tourism research. Co-Operative Economy & Science, (9), 32–33. https://doi.org/10.13665/j.cnki.hzjjykj.2018.09.011
Torabi Farsani, N., Saffari, B., Shafiei, Z., & Shafieian, A. (2018). Persian literary heritage tourism: Travel agents’ perspectives in Shiraz, Iran. Journal of Heritage Tourism, 13(5), 381–394. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743873X.2017.1371182
Van Es, N., & Reijnders, S. (2016). Chasing sleuths and unravelling the metropolis: Analyzing the tourist experience of Sherlock Holmes’ London, Philip Marlowe’s Los Angeles and Lisbeth Salander’s Stockholm. Annals of Tourism Research, 57, 113–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2015.11.017
Vázquez Añel, I., & Araújo Vila, N. (2018). Review of literary tourism and its state in present: Analysis of the case of Galicia (Spain). Cuadernos Geográficos, 57(1), 305–329. https://doi.org/10.30827/cuadgeo.v57i1.5842
Wang, H. J., & Zhang, D. (2017). Comparing literary tourism in mainland China and Taiwan: The Lu Xun Native Place and the Lin Yutang House. Tourism Management, 59, 234–253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2016.08.008
Wang, L. (2019). The local practice and industrialization path of literary classics tourism resources: A case study of Shandong. Reformation, (9), 115–127.
Wang, Y. (2010). Review of literary tourism research. Journal of Green Science and Technology, (10), 156–157. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1674-9944.2010.10.066
Wu, Y. (2018). Development and utilization of aesthetic resources from the perspective of literary tourism. Social Scientist, (11), 96–101. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1002-3240.2018.11.016
Xu, H., He, X., Zhang, M., & Ren, D. (2023). Network spatial structure of literary-themed tourism flow: A case study of Zhejiang poetry road cultural belt. Areal Research and Development, 42(5), 100–106. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1003-2363.2023.05.016
Liu, X., Rahman, M. L. A., Veeramuthu, S. A. L. P., & Qiao, G. (2025). Evolutionary paths and trends in literary tourism research: A visual analysis based on CiteSpace. Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism, 26(4), 763–783. https://doi.org/10.1080/1528008X.2023.2264506
Yang, S., Wang, Y., Xu, X., & Feng, X. (2020). Designing thematic literary tourist routes using Eileen Chang’s life and literature. Library Tribune, 40(10), 32–41.
Yu, J., Li, J., & Liu, R. (2009). Driving factors and limitations of literary tourism development. Theory and Reform, (1), 82–84. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1006-7426.2009.01.022
Yu, X., & Xu, H. (2016). Ancient poetry in contemporary Chinese tourism. Tourism Management, 54, 393–403. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2015.12.007
Yu, X., & Xu, H. (2018). Moral gaze at literary places: Experiencing “being the first to worry and the last to enjoy” at Yueyang Tower in China. Tourism Management, 65, 292–302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2017.10.017
Zhan, L. (2016). Regional tourism culture development strategies based on cultural brand image: Shen Congwen and Zhao Shuli as examples. Hunan Social Sciences, (5), 195–198.
Zhang, J. (2000). Suzhou landscape literature and landscape tourism. Tourism Science, (02), 29–32. https://doi.org/10.16323/j.cnki.lykx.2000.02.009
Zhang, J., Xiong, K., Liu, Z., & He, L. (2022). Research progress and knowledge system of world heritage tourism: A bibliometric analysis. Heritage Science, 10, Article 42. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-022-00654-0
Zhou, W., & Yu, B. (2012). Status quo of information behavior research in cognitive perspective: A bibliometric study. Documentation, Information & Knowledge, (1), 109–114. https://doi.org/10.13366/j.dik.2012.01.004
Zhu, X. (2007). Hunan women's literature and tourism resources in Hunan Province. Journal of Hunan University (Social Sciences), (4), 93–97. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1008-1763.2007.04.017
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 SHAN YANG, Robinson Mike
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Los autores que publican en esta revista están de acuerdo con los siguientes términos:- Los autores conservan los derechos de autor y garantizan a la revista el derecho de ser la primera publicación del trabajo al igual que licenciado bajo una Creative Commons Attribution License que permite a otros compartir el trabajo con un reconocimiento de la autoría del trabajo y la publicación inicial en esta revista.
- Los autores pueden establecer por separado acuerdos adicionales para la distribución no exclusiva de la versión de la obra publicada en la revista (por ejemplo, situarlo en un repositorio institucional o publicarlo en un libro), con un reconocimiento de su publicación inicial en esta revista.
- Se permite y se anima a los autores a difundir sus trabajos electrónicamente (por ejemplo, en repositorios institucionales o en su propio sitio web) antes y durante el proceso de envío, ya que puede dar lugar a intercambios productivos, así como a una citación más temprana y mayor de los trabajos publicados (Véase The Effect of Open Access) (en inglés).
