The evolution and future of wellness tourism: A two-phase review and a six-dimensional thematic framework
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Although wellness tourism has received increasing interest from researchers and practitioners alike, the relevant research has been scattered and lacked a comprehensive understanding of its development. To fill this gap this study combines the existing research findings to track the development of wellness tourism research and explore the emerging opportunities via the perspectives of wellness dimensions. A two-phase methodological literature review combining bibliometric analysis and systematic literature review was conducted on 214 relevant Scopus-indexed articles published between 2001 and 2024. The bibliometric analysis, based on authors’ keywords, reveals three timelines in research development and evolution: an early focus on foundational and medical-based wellness concepts (2001–2010), a transition toward destination marketing and segmentation (2011–2019), and a recent emphasis on consumer experience and digital wellness (2020–2024). The systematic review identifies six wellness dimensions: nutrition and healthy eating, wellness education, mental and meditation, spa and massage, beauty and personal care, and physical fitness emerging as notably under-researched areas. This study contributes to the field by integrating wellness dimensions with wellness tourism research and offering a structured framework for future inquiry. This study focuses on wellness tourism research and its dimensions and the wellness tourism economy. Additionally, it is the only study employing a two-phase methodology focused explicitly on mapping the wellness research evolution and identifying gaps across six wellness dimensions.
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