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Bibliometric analysis of Islamic tourism in Malaysia and Thailand: Thematic evolution and emerging trends (1995-2025)

Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This study presents a bibliometric and thematic analysis of Islamic tourism research focusing on Malaysia and Thailand. The analysis covers publications from 1995 to 2025 and aims to examine the field’s thematic evolution, intellectual structure, and emerging research trends. Data were retrieved from SciSpace, Google Scholar, and full-text academic repositories, yielding a final dataset of 420 publications after screening and data cleaning. Bibliometric techniques, including keyword co-occurrence analysis, thematic clustering, temporal trend analysis, and comparative thematic analysis, were conducted using VOSviewer and the Bibliometrix package in R, complemented by qualitative content analysis. Findings reveal a three-stage evolution of the field. The foundational phase (1995–2009) focused on defining Islamic and halal tourism and identifying the needs of Muslim travellers. The expansion phase (2010–2019) was dominated by tourism management, halal certification, service quality, and destination studies. The integration phase (2020–2025) introduced emerging themes related to sustainability, digital innovation, halal gastronomy, and post-pandemic adaptation. Tourism management was the most prevalent research theme (45.2% of publications), followed by halal certification (23.8%) and destination studies (18.7%). Comparative analysis shows that Malaysian studies primarily emphasize halal governance, Shariah compliance, and halal gastronomy, whereas Thai studies focus on cultural sensitivity, minority Muslim participation, and cross-cultural service delivery. The findings also indicate rapid growth in research on sustainability and technology, highlighting new directions for Islamic tourism scholarship. This study provides a systematic overview of the evolution of Islamic tourism research and identifies key thematic developments and research gaps that can inform future academic and industry research.
DOI: 10.31893/multirev.2027208
Language: English
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7220093976
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