Artificial Intelligence in Health Tourism: A Bibliometric Analysis

The rapid advancement of technology has strengthened the relationship between health tourism and artificial intelligence (AI), making this field increasingly important from both academic and practical perspectives. In the context of health tourism, AI-supported technologies play a critical role in developing marketing strategies, enhancing patient experience and service quality, and improving operational efficiency in healthcare services. This study aims to examine academic research on AI-supported health tourism through a bibliometric analysis. Within the scope of the study, publications indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) database were analyzed in terms of annual scientific production, leading authors and countries, collaboration networks, influential journals, frequently used keywords, and emerging research trends. The findings indicate that academic publications on AI-supported health tourism have been indexed in the WoS database since 1990 and have shown a marked increase, particularly after 2019. The highest number of publications was reached in 2024, with a total of 50 studies published. In total, 207 studies were published across 177 different sources, with an average annual growth rate of 5.72%. A total of 1,037 researchers contributed to these publications, with an average of 5.22 authors per study, indicating a strong collaborative research structure. Sensors emerged as the most productive journal, while Artificial Intelligence in Medicine was among the most highly cited sources. In terms of geographical distribution, researchers from the United States produced the highest number of publications, followed by China and Italy. Keyword analysis revealed that the most frequently used terms included artificial intelligence, system, model, internet, diagnosis, and wellness. The significant increase in AI-related studies after 2019 highlights the growing prominence of artificial intelligence as a central research theme within health tourism. Overall, the findings suggest that AI-supported health tourism will continue to attract increasing academic attention and will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of the sector.