Meta-Analysis of Tourism Sustainability Research: 2019–2021

Abstract

Sustainability in tourism, hospitality, and leisure is a long-standing topic of growing interest. Research in the field of tourism has accelerated over the past decade. The goal of this meta-analysis is to categorize recent research in tourism sustainability to identify patterns and trends, which could help us understand where the field is currently conducting research and where more work may be needed. Over 800 relevant articles published in major tourism journals during a three-year period (2019–2021) were included in the analysis; however, despite the increase in volume of published tourism sustainability research, this quantity was less than 4% of all publications in the same journals. Four over-arching pillars of sustainability research themes emerged (social, economic, ecological, and institutional) with numerous sub-categories within each. The majority of tourism sustainability research occurred in the social and economic arenas. Much more research is needed in the other three categories. The greater part of the recent advances in tourism sustainability appears to be driven by small- and medium-sized tourism firms. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism sustainability is only beginning to be understood. Tourism business leaders have an opportunity to strengthen and integrate their use of sustainability as they work to rebuild consumer trust in travel services.