BIBLIOMETRIC AND CONTENT ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL TRENDS IN DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND RURAL TOURISM

This article comprehensively reviews recent advancements in digital transformation in rural tourism research. It analyzes prominent studies, key authors, and influential journals while identifying potential future research directions. From a bibliographic perspective, the study used data extracted from the Scopus database. Analytical methods, such as co-citation and co-occurrence keyword analyses, were employed to evaluate the content and assess research performance. These techniques revealed discernible patterns of international collaboration. Research on digital transformation in rural tourism has grown significantly since 2017, with the first papers published in Malaysia and China. The number of articles increased sharply in 2021–2023. China leads with nine papers, followed by Malaysia, Spain, Poland and the United States. During the analysis period, 36 journals published articles on digital transformation in rural tourism. Some journals that published only one article but received the most citations included Journal of Tourism Futures, Cogent Social Sciences and Environment, Development and Sustainability. With a minimum co-citation threshold of two, the paper identified a cluster with 31 prominent authors. The study identified five key clusters of digital transformation in rural tourism: (1)-Digital Folklore and Smart Travel Technology Before and After the Pandemic, examining shifts in traveller behaviour and folklore digitization driven by COVID-19 disruptions; (2)- Digital Technology Solutions Supporting Green and Sustainable Tourism Development, highlighting eco-friendly innovations enabled by digital tools; (3)-Applying Information Technology in Developing Community-Based Rural Tourism, exploring IT's role in empowering local communities; (4)-Digital Communications and Marketing for Rural Tourism, understanding the impact of digital marketing strategies on rural destinations; and (5)-Geographic Information System (GIS) and Scanning Technology in Rural Tourism, investigating the use of spatial and scanning technologies for rural tourism management. Researchers should consider incorporating data from additional databases, such as Web of Science (WOS), Dimensions, and PubMed, to enhance the depth and comprehensiveness of future studies. Expanding the scope of bibliographic analysis to emerging digitalization areas within tourism could further strengthen the field’s relevance and scholarly value.