Mapping Research Trends in Tourism, Marketing, and Business Management: A Bibliometric Analysis and Field Review with ABAC Journal’s Position

Abstract

This study aims to analyze research trends and thematic developments in the field of tourism, marketing, and business management, from 2021 to 2024, and to evaluate the ABAC Journal’s thematic alignment and research positioning within these fields using global trends as a benchmark. A bibliometric analysis of 365,942 Scopus-indexed publications was conducted using keyword co-occurrence mapping and Louvain clustering, with cosine similarity applied to refine thematic classification. A total of 297 articles were selected for qualitative interpretation to deepen content understanding. The results reveal four widely shared research directions across the three fields, including (1) Sustainability, (2) Psychology and Behavior, (3) AI, Digital Strategy, and Customer Experience, and (4) COVID-19 and Risk Management. In addition, each field features a unique thematic area: Leisure, Well-being, and Social Dynamics in tourism; Brand Equity, Consumer Trust, and Digital Engagement in marketing; and Governance, Public Policy, and Institutional Development in business management. The ABAC Journal, while highlighting a practical focus especially within Southeast Asia, contributes across all thematic areas in tourism, marketing, and business management. It demonstrates strong proportions and citation performance in Psychology and Behavior, particularly in marketing and tourism. Although topics related to AI, Digital Strategy, and Customer Experience, as well as Sustainability in marketing, receive high citation impact, they remain underrepresented by volume. By comparison, engagement with Sustainability, especially in tourism, appears disproportionately high relative to its citation impact. The overall findings of this study suggest that the ABAC Journal, along with other journals of similar scope, should strengthen engagement with emerging areas such as digital innovation, AI applications, and customer experience, while continuing to prioritize sustainability-related themes as an enduring focus in contemporary research.