Mapping the Research Trends on Dark Tourism: A Bibliometric Analysis and Visualization

Abstract

Bibliometrics is a tool that enables the analysis of historical development, present conditions, and prospective trends in a specific field of study. The purpose of this research is to examine dark tourism research that was published between 2007 and 2021. A total of 234 important publications were systematically retrieved and bibliometrically analyzed from the Scopus database. To examine and illustrate the dark tourism research trend, the current study used the Bibliometrix tool. To represent the general pattern and structure of dark tourism research, the final analysis incorporates bibliometric indicators such as annual scientific production, most prolific journal, most prolific author, country and institutions, most impactful articles, co-citation and author's keywords. The finding of this analysis shows that publications on dark tourism have expanded dramatically and are dominated by a small number of writers and nations. The study provides theoretical and practical insight into dark tourism research.