A bibliometric analysis of research on intangible cultural heritage in the field of tourism

This study was conducted to perform a bibliometric analysis of research on Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) in the field of tourism. A general survey design, one of the descriptive research methods, was employed. The raw data forming the basis of the study were obtained from the Web of Science database on February 15, 2025. In the WoS database, 5653 publications were initially retrieved using the keyword “Intangible Cultural Heritage,” of which 1210 were found to be related to tourism. The analysis revealed that the earliest study on ICH in tourism dates back to 2006. The University of Cordoba emerged as the leading institution, with 20 publications. The journals with the highest number of publications were Sustainability, Journal of Heritage Tourism, and International Journal of Intangible Heritage. The five most frequently used keywords were Intangible Cultural Heritage, Cultural Heritage, Tourism, Cultural Tourism, and Heritage. Less frequently used keywords included co-creation, competitiveness, ethnic tourism, rural development, community engagement, cultural routes, perceived authenticity, conservation, urban regeneration, and digital heritage. At the country level, China, Spain, and Italy were identified as the leading contributors, while Su, J., Lopez, G.T., and Zhang, M. were the most prolific authors.