Yoga tourism: review and research agenda

Purpose Yoga tourism, a rapidly growing niche within the broader wellness tourism sector, has gained significant traction as more individuals seek holistic health experiences encompassing physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Popular destinations for yoga tourism offer immersive experiences that often include complementary practices such as yoga, meditation, detoxification programs and alternative healing therapies. This systematic literature review (SLR) aims to explore the existing research on yoga tourism, offering insights into the key themes, trends and gaps within this expanding field. Design/methodology/approach This study employed a SLR following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, using a structured search strategy with predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria to ensure transparency and rigor. Relevant studies were retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar to capture high-quality, multidisciplinary research and reduce publication bias. The selected articles were analyzed using the TCCM framework (theory, context, characteristics and methodology), enabling a clear, theory-driven synthesis. This approach facilitated the identification of key themes, research patterns, gaps and emerging directions in yoga tourism research. Findings This SLR synthesizes 64 scholarly articles on yoga tourism using the TCCM framework and identifies key themes, gaps and future research directions. Findings highlight the need for broader contextual coverage, greater methodological diversity and critical engagement with dominant wellness and New Age narratives that often assume yoga tourism to be inherently transformative or sustainable. This study underscores yoga tourism’s implications for well-being, cultural exchange and economic sustainability and calls for future research on cultural disconnections, gendered health and safety concerns, and the growing influence of digitalization and hybrid wellness models. Practical implications This review analyzes yoga tourism literature, categorizing its forms, growth trends, key motivations, health benefits and economic impact while addressing challenges such as regulations and environmental sustainability. These insights offer a holistic understanding of the yoga tourism landscape, serving as a foundation for future research and policy development. This interdisciplinary approach has the potential to transform both the tourism and wellness sectors by promoting economic resilience, fostering cultural exchange and shaping a more holistic form of tourism that prioritizes well-being and sustainability. Originality/value This is the first study to apply the TCCM framework to yoga tourism, offering a structured synthesis of fragmented research. It highlights underexplored areas such as sustainability, cultural integration and digital practices, while proposing a future research agenda that advances both theory and practice in tourism and wellness studies.