Malaysia's Tourism Destination Competitiveness: A Bibliometric Analysis
Abstract
Over the past three decades, tourism has grown rapidly worldwide, gradually increasing the competition among tourism destinations. Coupled with the impact of COVID-19, Malaysia, as one of the countries in the Asia-Pacific region most affected by the epidemic, is in urgent need to adjust policies and measures to cope with fierce competition and quickly restore tourism. The aim of this article is thus to analyse the existing related research and concludes the research trend and limitations. Based on the articles collected on Scopus and Google Scholar, this study used a combination of Excel software and VOSviwer software, which applying technical tools including statistic and co-keyword analysis. There are 33 articles meeting inclusion criteria used to conduct a bibliometric review of existing articles researched on tourism destination competitiveness of Malaysia in the last decade since 2012. The results show that previous studies focus on the destination competitiveness of rural tourism and eco-tourism, but few studies on the comparison of tourism competition between Malaysia and other countries,which is insufficient on the comparison international tourism competition. Furthermore, discussion and recommendations for future studies are made in the discussion and recommendations. This article, on the one hand, provides a knowledge support for filling the gap in the literature review of the competitiveness of tourism destinations in Malaysia. On the other hand, it offers a practical background for helping the Malaysian government to adjust the implementation of policies and gain the advantages of tourism competition, to cope with the complexity and uncertainties in the future.
Downloads
References
Abreu-Novais, M., Ruhanen, L. and Arcodia, C. (2016) ‘Destination competitiveness: what we know, what we know but shouldn’t and what we don’t know but should’, Current Issues in Tourism, 19(6), pp. 492–512. doi: 10.1080/13683500.2015.1091443.
Aguiar-Barbosa, A. de P., Chim-Miki, A. F. and Kozak, M. (2020) ‘Two decades of evolution in tourism competitiveness: a co-word analysis’, International Journal of Tourism Cities, 7(2), pp. 435–462. doi: 10.1108/IJTC-10-2020-0224.
Airey, D. and Chong, K. (2010) ‘National policy-Makers for tourism in China’, Annals of Tourism Research, 37(2), pp. 295–314. doi: 10.1016/j.annals.2009.09.004.
Amanda de Paula Aguiar-Barbosa, A. F. C.-M. (2022) ‘Indicators for Tourism Competitiveness from the Society’s Perspective: A Delphi Study’, Tourism Planning and Development, (May), pp. 1–22. doi: 10.1080/21568316.2022.2069850.
Andrades-Caldito, L., Sánchez-Rivero, M. and Pulido-Fernández, J. I. (2014) ‘Tourism destination competitiveness from a demand point of view: An empirical analysis for andalusia’, Tourism Analysis, 19(4), pp. 425–440. doi: 10.3727/108354214X14090817031035.
Arruda, H. et al. (2022) ‘VOSviewer and Bibliometrix’, Journal of the Medical Library Association?: JMLA, 110(3), pp. 392–395. doi: 10.5195/jmla.2022.1434.
Balasubramanian, K. and Hanafiah, M. H. (2022) ‘What innovations would enable the tourism and hospitality industry in Malaysia to rebuild?’, Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, 14(6), pp. 596–603. doi: 10.1108/WHATT-05-2022-0057.
Bastidas-Manzano, A. B., Sánchez-Fernández, J. and Casado-Aranda, L. A. (2021) ‘The Past, Present, and Future of Smart Tourism Destinations: A Bibliometric Analysis’, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, 45(3), pp. 529–552. doi: 10.1177/1096348020967062.
Cavalcante, W. Q. de F., Coelho, A. and Bairrada, C. M. (2021) ‘Sustainability and tourism marketing: A bibliometric analysis of publications between 1997 and 2020 using vosviewer software’, Sustainability (Switzerland), 13(9). doi: 10.3390/su13094987.
Chin, C.-H. et al. (2014) ‘Rural Tourism Destination Competitiveness: A Study on Annah Rais Longhouse Homestay, Sarawak’, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 144, pp. 35–44. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.07.271.
Croes, R., Kubickova, M. and Ridderstaat, J. (2022) ‘Destination Competitiveness and Human Development: The Compelling Critical Force of Human Agency’, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research. doi: 10.1177/10963480221140022.
Cronjé, D. F. and du Plessis, E. (2020a) ‘A review on tourism destination competitiveness’, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 45(September 2019), pp. 256–265. doi: 10.1016/j.jhtm.2020.06.012.
Cronjé, D. F. and du Plessis, E. (2020b) ‘file:///C:/Users/HP/Documents/WeChat Files/wxid_40373ks93wrb22/FileStorage/Temp/Copy/An index to quantify an individual’s scientific research output.pdf’, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 45(June), pp. 256–265. doi: 10.1016/j.jhtm.2020.06.012.
Crouch, G. I. (2011) ‘Destination competitiveness: An analysis of determinant attributes’, Journal of Travel Research, 50(1), pp. 27–45. doi: 10.1177/0047287510362776.
Crouch, G. I. and Ritchie, J. R. B. (1999) ‘Tourism, competitiveness, and societal prosperity’, Journal of Business Research, 44(3), pp. 137–152. doi: 10.1016/S0148-2963(97)00196-3.
Dupeyras, A. and Maccallum, N. (2013) ‘Indicators for Measuring Competitiveness in Tourism A GUIDANCE DOCUMENT’, OECD Tourism Papers, 2013/02, pp. 1–62.
Dwyer, L. and Kim, C. (2003) ‘Destination competitiveness: Determinants and indicators’, Current Issues in Tourism, 6(5), pp. 369–414. doi: 10.1080/13683500308667962.
Eck, N. J. Van and Waltman, L. (2019) ‘VOSviewer Manual’, (January).
Enright, M. J. and Newton, J. (2004) ‘Tourism destination competitiveness: A quantitative approach’, Tourism Management, 25(6), pp. 777–788. doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2004.06.008.
Fahimnia, B., Sarkis, J. and Davarzani, H. (2015) ‘Green supply chain management: A review and bibliometric analysis’, International Journal of Production Economics, 162, pp. 101–114. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2015.01.003.
Goffi, G., Cucculelli, M. and Del Chiappa, G. (2023) ‘Tourism Destination Competitiveness in Italy: A Stakeholders’ Perspective’, Tourism Planning and Development, 20(4), pp. 721–745. doi: 10.1080/21568316.2022.2160805.
Jiménez-García, M. et al. (2020) ‘A bibliometric analysis of sports tourism and sustainability (2002-2019)’, Sustainability (Switzerland), 12(7), pp. 1–18. doi: 10.3390/su12072840.
Khan, M. A. A. and Hashim, H. (2020) ‘the Effect of Covid-19 on Tourism and Hospitality Industry in Malaysia, Resurgence in the Post-Pandemic Era: a Conceptual Criterion’, International Journal of Tourism & Hospitality Reviews, 7(2), pp. 54–62. doi: 10.18510/ijthr.2020.726.
Kubickova, M. and Lee, S. H. (2018) ‘Cuba Today: An Overview of Tourism Competitiveness’, Tourism Planning and Development, 15(3), pp. 239–259. doi: 10.1080/21568316.2017.1410496.
Kubickova, M. and Li, H. (2017) ‘Tourism Competitiveness, Government and Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) Model: The Evaluation of Costa Rica, Guatemala and Honduras’, International Journal of Tourism Research, 19(2), pp. 223–234. doi: 10.1002/jtr.2105.
Lew, A., (2020, October 21). How to Create a Better Post-COVID-19 World. Retrieved from:
https://me dium.com/@alanalew/creating-a-better-post-covid-19-world-36b2b3e8a7ae
Lo, M. C., Chin, C. H. and Law, F. Y. (2019) ‘Tourists’ perspectives on hard and soft services toward rural tourism destination competitiveness: Community support as a moderator’, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 19(2), pp. 139–157. doi: 10.1177/1467358417715677.
Melville Saayman, Engelina du Plessis and Annari van der Merwe (2014) ‘What makes South African Tourism competitive?’, African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 4(2), pp. 1–14. Available at: https://doaj.org/article/f47353129d7046d3bb772d0535eada2e.
Niglas, K. (2007) ‘Media Review: Spreadsheet Software Can Facilitate Mixed Methods Research?Using Old Tools in a New Context!’, Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 1(3), pp. 297–299. doi: 10.1177/1558689807301250.
de Paula Aguiar-Barbosa, A. and Chim-Miki, A. F. (2022) ‘file:///C:/Users/HP/Documents/WeChat Files/wxid_40373ks93wrb22/FileStorage/Temp/Copy/Aguiar-Barbosa, et al. (2021). Two decades of evolution in tourism competitiveness- a co-word analysis..pdf’, Tourism Planning and Development, (May), pp. 1–22. doi: 10.1080/21568316.2022.2069850.
Pérez Romero, M. E. et al. (2021) ‘Tourism competitiveness: bibliometric analysis of global scientific production from 1991 to 2018’, Inquietud Empresarial, 21(1), pp. 55–73. doi: 10.19053/01211048.11476.
Porter, M. E. (1980) ‘Industry Structure and Competitive Strategy’, Financial Analysts Journal, 36(4), pp. 30–41. Available at: www.jstor.org.
Poon, A. (1993). Tourism, technology and competitive strategies. CAB international.
Salinas Fernández, J. A., Guaita Martínez, J. M. and Martín Martín, J. M. (2022) ‘An analysis of the competitiveness of the tourism industry in a context of economic recovery following the COVID19 pandemic’, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 174, p. 121301. doi: 10.1016/J.TECHFORE.2021.121301.
Sampaio, C. et al. (2022) ‘Tourism industry at times of crisis: a bibliometric approach and research agenda’, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights. doi: 10.1108/JHTI-08-2021-0223.
Sarwar, A. (2013) ‘Medical tourism in Malaysia: Prospect and challenges’, Iranian Journal of Public Health, 42(8), pp. 795–805. Available at: http://ijph.tums.ac.ir (Accessed: 27 May 2023).
Sarwar, A. et al. (2013) ‘Tourism competitiveness of asia pacific destinations’, Tourism Analysis, 18(4), pp. 371–384. doi: 10.3727/108354213X13736372325876.
Seguí-Amortegui, L. et al. (2019) ‘Sustainability and competitiveness in the tourism industry and tourist destinations: A bibliometric study’, Sustainability (Switzerland), 11(22). doi: 10.3390/su11226351.
Shariffuddin, N. S. M., Zain, W. M. A. W. M. and Azinuddin, M. (2020) ‘Collaborative challenges among stakeholders on tourism destination competitiveness’, International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change, 13(1), pp. 454–466. Available at: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85085193656&partnerID=40&md5=8ffc6588a9ef053954a377ca99cd9eb4.
Sigala, M. (2020) ‘Tourism and COVID-19: Impacts and implications for advancing and resetting industry and research’, Journal of Business Research, 117, pp. 312–321. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.06.015.
Su, X., Li, X. and Kang, Y. (2019) ‘A Bibliometric Analysis of Research on Intangible Cultural Heritage Using CiteSpace’, SAGE Open, 9(2). doi: 10.1177/2158244019840119.
Tourism Malaysia (2021, March 10), International Tourist Arrivals To Malaysia Plunge 83.4%
In 2020. Retrieved from https://www.tourism.gov.my/media/view/international-tourist-arrivals-to-malaysia-plunge -83-4-in-2020
Wong, P. P. W. and Teoh, K. (2015) ‘The influence of destination competitiveness on customer-based brand equity’, Journal of Destination Marketing and Management, 4(4), pp. 206–212. doi: 10.1016/j.jdmm.2015.05.001.
Yu, Y. et al. (2020) ‘A bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer of publications on COVID-19’, Annals of Translational Medicine, 8(13), pp. 816–816. doi: 10.21037/atm-20-4235.
Copyright (c) 2025 Wu Tong, Shida Irwana Omar
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Author (s) should affirm that the material has not been published previously. It has not been submitted and it is not under consideration by any other journal. At the same time author (s) need to execute a publication permission agreement to assume the responsibility of the submitted content and any omissions and errors therein. After submission of revised paper in the light of suggestions of the reviewers, the editorial team edits and formats manuscripts to bring uniformity and standardization in published material.
This work will be licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) and under condition of the license, users are free to read, copy, remix, transform, redistribute, download, print, search or link to the full texts of articles and even build upon their work as long as they credit the author for the original work. Moreover, as per journal policy author (s) hold and retain copyrights without any restrictions.
