Wellness Tourism Meets Sustainability: Global Trends and Knowledge Structure Through Bibliometric Insights

Abstract

Wellness tourism is one of the emerging sectors in the tourism industry, where travelers go for rejuvenation and refreshment by enhancing and balancing their body, mind, and spirit. It focuses on creating overall balance and preventing disease rather than treating the cause or symptoms. It can be termed the most sustainable way to enjoy journeys. Most wellness tourism activities are intertwined with nature and the environment. Even studies show that wellness tourists are looking for destinations that offer a calm atmosphere and warmly welcome them to nature's serene beauty. So it is important to understand the interconnectivity and role of wellness tourism and sustainability in the global tourism sector. This bibliometric study explores how sustainability shapes wellness tourism and how wellness tourism, in turn, supports sustainable practices. Over the period from 2006 to 2025, the number of publications increased to 24 in 2025. It was identified that wellness tourism and sustainability are emerging areas of research with immense opportunities for in-depth study to protect the environment. Most globally cited documents, average citations, themes concentrated in the study so far, and words associated with it were identified through this bibliometric study.