Health Tourism Destination Branding: a Scientific Map of International Researches in the Web of Science Reference Database

Subject Areas : Health Management Services

Seyed Mohaammad Rasregari ¹ , Shahnaz Nayebzadeh ² , کامبیز حیدر زاده ³ , hamid saeedi ⁴

1 - PhD student, Department of Business Administration, Emirates Branch, Islamic Azad University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
2 - Department of Business Administration, Yazd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Yazd, Iran
3 - Department of Business Administration, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
4 - Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Management and Accounting, Yadegar Imam Khomeini Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

Received: 2024-08-05 Accepted : 2024-09-28 Published : 2025-07-08

Keywords: Destination branding, Health tourism, Scientometrics, Scientific map, Co-authored network.,

Abstract :

Introduction: The increasing number of health tourists and the growing significance of health tourism worldwide have prompted researchers to explore the use of branding in the health sector. This study aims to conduct a scient metric analysis and create scientific maps of international research indexed in the Web of Science database. The findings can serve as a foundation for Iranian researchers' knowledge development in health tourism and guide industry stakeholders.

Methods: This descriptive research used an applied approach and scientific indicators to analyze the authorship network of countries and keyword occurrences using social network analysis indicators. The statistical population comprised articles indexed in the Web of Science database from 1985 to 2024 in the field of health tourism destination branding. The data analysis was performed using VOS viewer software.

Results: The study identified researchers with the highest number of articles and citations, as well as frequently occurring keywords and countries contributing to research in health tourism destination branding. Furthermore, it highlighted leading journals publishing valuable research in this area, aiming to advance knowledge in health tourism destination branding at both national and international levels.

Conclusion: Health tourism marketing has become one of the undeniable values of governments in order to realize tourism development programs and branding destinations that have the potential for economic growth and development. In addition, investing in health is of great importance to the country's macro-decision makers. Exploiting the capabilities of health tourism, along with creating brands that can also help the health economy as a tourism destination, is a topic that researchers in different countries are paying special attention to. The present study clarifies the horizon ahead of health tourism industry managers and activists from aspects such as countries active in this field, important variables in the form of frequently repeated keywords and supporting organizations. By introducing the challenges of knowledge development in this field, it invites Iranian researchers to pave the way for the realization of the country's macro-goals in the field of tourism industry development, especially health tourism, in order to highlight Iranian health tourism destinations in the global scientific community and help improve the knowledge of Iranian activists in this field in their applied research.

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