Intellectual connections in food tourism literature: A co‐citation approach

This study critically examines, using a co‐citation approach, the evolution of food and culinary tourism research in the field of hospitality and tourism (H&T) from 1976 to 2019. A bibliometric study of publications indexed in the top 16 H&T journal databases was conducted, and a total of 523 food and culinary tourism‐related documents were identified and analyzed. The research findings revealed that food and culinary tourism publication numbers in H&T journals increased after 1999 yet somehow decreased after 2017. In terms of methodological approaches and data analysis, behavioral studies frequently used structural equation modeling, while advanced methodological approaches in other domains were deemed insufficient. The study findings further reveal that most of the influential works are relatively old and that no groundbreaking or game‐changing studies have occurred in recent years in food and culinary tourism research. Highlights Analysis of journal categories reveals an increase in the number of articles published in H&T journals after 1999, reaching peak number in 2016. However, food and culinary tourism studies significantly declined in 2017 and attracted even fewer scholars in 2018 and 2019. Most of the influential works are relatively old. No groundbreaking or game‐changing developments occurred recently in food and culinary tourism research.