Tourism Network in Urban Agglomerated Destinations: Implications for Sustainable Tourism Destination Development through a Critical Literature Review

Abstract

This study analyzes tourism network in urban agglomerated destinations and puts forth implications for future sustainable development through a critical and extensive review of related literature. First of all, with a bibliometric analysis of 2670 selected articles from three research fields of urban tourism, urban agglomeration tourism and tourism destination network, we analyzed their respective research themes and classified them accordingly. Then, the study further investigates the role of tourism network in urban agglomerated destinations by identifying the differences and connections between urban agglomeration tourism and urban tourism. Finally, a basic architecture is established for the study of tourism networks in urban agglomerated destinations context. Study findings highlight that urban agglomeration tourism emphasizes the interconnectivity and social network relationships. However, research on the destination network of urban agglomerations is limited, especially from the tourism development perspectives. Therefore, the evolution process, structural effects, determinants and dynamic mechanisms of the tourism network in urban agglomerated destination are among the opportunities for future research. Moreover, the research architecture shows that the network relationship emerges as a new direction for the study of urban agglomeration system to better integrate and harness destinations’ resources and thereby promote sustainable development in urban agglomerated areas.