Relational analysis of publications on the use of geographic information systems in tourism - Recreation planning and management

This study aims to comprehensively examine the use of geographic information systems (GIS) in tourism planning and management. The role of GIS in the tourism sector is becoming increasingly important, especially in areas such as spatial data analysis, decision support systems, and sustainable tourism planning. In this study, a bibliometric analysis of academic studies was conducted, examining current trends, thematic clusters, international collaborations, and citation networks in detail. The methodology of the study is based on bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer software. These analyses reveal the methods and areas in which GIS is utilized in tourism planning, as well as the prominent topics and countries that have collaborated more in this field. Based on articles in the Scopus database, the research visualized and analyzed the issues on which publications focus, the collaboration networks between authors, and the most cited studies. The findings demonstrate that GIS is effectively utilized in tourism planning, particularly in areas such as sustainable tourism, infrastructure planning, and environmental impact assessments. However, topics such as big data analytics and intelligent city planning have not yet been sufficiently explored. In addition, international collaborations are concentrated among countries such as the United States, China, the United Kingdom, and Türkiye. The most frequently cited authors and studies were those related to sustainable tourism and its environmental impacts. In conclusion, this study offers a deeper understanding of the versatile applications of GIS in the tourism sector and provides important insights for future research. In particular, it is emphasized that issues such as integrating GIS with big data and artificial intelligence should be further explored.