40 Years of Family Tourism Research: Bibliometric Analysis and Remaining Issues

Figures & data

Figure 1. Number of publications by year (1978–May 2019).

Figure 2. Journal outlets of publications.

Figure 3. Publications by authors’ affiliations.

Figure 4. Publications by country of authors’ affiliations.

Figure 5. Publications by authors.

Figure 6. Collaboration patterns by year.

Table 1. Methodological Approaches.

Approach	Details		Count	Percentage
Empirical study	Collection and analysis of qualitative or quantitative data based on direct or indirect observation and experience	Quantitative	62	47.3%
		Qualitative	45	34.4%
		Mixed methods	8	6.1%
Literature review	Critical review of literature on a specific topic		11	8.4%
Historical perspective/ Discussion/ Opinion piece	Analysis and discussion of previous studies to reveal research deficiencies or to make recommendations for future research		4	3.0%
Theory (model) building	Development of a model for a particular research topic		1	0.8%

Figure 7. Co-word network: 1978–May 2019.

Figure 8. Co-word network: 1978–1999.

Table 2. Keywords: 1978–1999.

Theme	Sub-theme	Keywords (Frequency) (1978–1999)
Behavior (28)	Decision making (14)	decision making (6); family decision making (2); tourist group decision making (1); travel decision (1); consumption decision making (1); decision and influence structure (1); decision making modes (1); lodging choice (1)
	Consumption behavior (9)	consuming behavior preference (2); family clients (1); family consuming struct (1); family tourists consume (1); hotel expenditures (1); income elasticities (1); tourism demand (1); tourist expenditure (1)
	General (5)	tourism/tourists/travel behavior (4); travel pattern (1)
Foundation (24)		family travel (6); family vacation (5); tourism (3); holidays (2); overseas travel (2); disadvantaged families (1); leisure travel (1); types of vacation (1); household vacation travel (1); tours (1); benefits of tourism (1)
Family Roles (15)	Children (9)	children (4); children influence (2); children and tourism (1); teenage child (1); image of tourists (1)
	Parents/Spouses/Couples/Other adults (6)	parent (2); couple (1); gender (1); spouses (1); international travel agent (1)
Place (7)	Countries/Cities (6)	USA (1); Europe (1); Mexico (1); German residents (1); Multi-nation (1); (country) comparison (1)
	Attractions (1)	beaches (1);
Psychological Factors (5)		attitudes (2); cultural identity (1); satisfaction (1); geopolitical identity (1)
Family Structure and Functions (6)		family life cycle (5); cohort effect (1)
Methodology and Theory (6)		children’s drawings (1); empirical evidence (1); leisure theory (1); cross sectional (1); longitudinal approach (1); phenomenological perspective (1)
Experience (1)		women holiday experience (1)

Table 3. Keywords: 2000–May 2019.

Theme	Sub-theme	Keywords (Frequency) (2000–May 2019)
Foundation (129)	General (61)	family (17);
		family travel (9);
		family tourism (8);
		tourism (4);
		travel/tourism benefits (3);
		social tourism (3);
		(destination/tourism) marketing (3);
		accommodation (2);
		destination management (1);
		Chinese family (1);
		family characteristics (1);
		family reunion travel (1);
		market investigation (1);
		market segmentation (1);
		social care (1);
		social connectedness (1);
		target market selection (1);
		tourism mobility (1);
		tourism products (1);
		tourism sector (1)
	Family vacation/Holiday (34)	family holiday (14);
		family vacation (13);
		vacation (2);
		vacation planning (1);
		vacation effect (1);
		vacation benefits (1);
		vacation functions (1);
		vacation marketing (1)
	Types of tourism (18)	adventure tourism (2);
		culture (2);
		babymoon tourism (1);
		business travel (1);
		coastal mass tourism (1);
		caravanning (1);
		dark tourism (1);
		ecotourism (1);
		film tourism (1);
		group package tour (1);
		medical tourism (1);
		nature-based adventure tourism (1);
		niche tourism (1);
		wedding tourism (1);
		wildlife tourism (1);
		festival (1)
	Family leisure/Recreation (16)	family leisure (7);
		core and balance family leisure (3);
		family recreation (2);
		family time (2);
		Chinese leisure tourists (1);
		leisure travel (1)
Family Roles (88)	Parents/Spouses/ Couples/Other adults (36)	parents (4);
		gender (4);
		fathers (3);
		dyadic consensus (2);
		parental style (2);
		mother (2);
		couple leisure (1);
		couple roles (1);
		dual-earner households (1);
		dual-parent family (1);
		conflict and influence tactics (1);
		conflict level (1)
		conflict resolution (1);
		disagreement-resolution strategy (1);
		dyadic (dis)agreement (1);
		family communication (1);
		family conservation (1);
		grandparents (1);
		emerging adulthood (1);
		women (1);
		perceived parental power (1);
		spouses (1);
		young adults (1);
		Chinese parents (1);
		elderly travel (1)
	Children (36)	children (22);
		children’s influence (3);
		travel with children (1);
		(disabled children) access (1);
		disability (1);
		family with disable children (1);
		child-psychology (1);
		children and adult comparisons (1);
		children geographies (1);
		children health (1);
		children’s perspectives (1);
		crying babies (1);
		Chinese children (1)
	Others (16)	Adolescent(s) (2);
		family (member) roles (3);
		visiting friends and relatives (2);
		adolescent Internet mavens (1);
		Chinese adolescents (1);
		household roles (1);
		single-parent family (1);
		work-family conflict (1);
		young tourists (1);
		young (1);
		role of family vacation (1);
		role distribution (1)
Behavior (52)	Decision making (28)	(family/vacation) decision making (27);
		the role of women in decision making (1);
	General (16)	(tourists/travel/vacation) behavior (6);
		consumer behavior (4);
		sociality (3);
		socialization (1);
		consumer socialization (1);
		travel learning (1)
	Consumption behavior (8)	tourism/travel expenditure (3);
		travel purchase (2);
		tourism consumption (1);
		family buying behavior (1);
		individual choice behavior (1)
Psychological Factors (35)		motives/motivation (10);
		(emotional/subjective/family) well-being (5);
		family satisfaction (4);
		family leisure satisfaction (2);
		emotion (2);
		customer satisfaction and loyalty (1);
		authenticity (1);
		bonding (1);
		family dynamics (1);
		family fear (1);
		happiness (1);
		mood (1);
		psychological status (1);
		social identities (1);
		social relationships (1);
		travel attitude (1);
		desires (1)
Place (28)	Country/Cities (19)	Malaysia (3);
		Denmark (2);
		Asian (1);
		Australia (1);
		Beijing (1);
		China tourism (1);
		Germany (1);
		Greece (1);
		Mexico (1);
		New Zealand (1);
		Romanian consumers (1);
		Scotland (1);
		Singapore (1);
		Turkish culture (1);
		UK (1);
		US (1)
	Attractions (9)	heritage (3);
		museums (2);
		art museums (1);
		destination resort (1);
		family resort (1);
		Legoland (1)
Methodology and Theory (2)		qualitative research/method (3);
		whole family approach (2);
		generalized linear model (1);
		bibliometric analysis (1);
		children travel surveys (1);
		consumption theory (1);
		core and balance model (1);
		correlation analysis (1);
		critical incident technique (1);
		decision-making models (1);
		destination research (1);
		discrete choice model (1);
		family studies research (1);
		family systems theory (1);
		in home survey (1);
		interpretative phenomenological analysis (1);
		leisure Motivation Scale (1);
		literature review (1);
		multilevel analysis (1);
		photo-elicitation interviews (1);
		self-determination theory (1);
		social power theory (1);
		reversal theory (1)
Experience (22)		(destination/holiday/leisure/ tourists) experience (12);
		holiday/vacation activities (5);
		leisure activities (1);
		experiential learning (1);
		overseas educational travel experiences (1);
		social experience (1);
		whitewater rafting (1)
Family Structure and Functions (16)		family life circle (5);
		family functioning (5);
		family adaptation and cohesion (1);
		family bonding (1);
		family structure (1);
		group dynamics (1);
		link function (1);
		motivations shift map of family life cycle (MSMFLC) (1)

Figure 9. Co-word network: 2000–2019.