*Article* **What Does the Concept of Resilience in Tourism Mean in the Time of COVID-19? Results of a Bibliometric Analysis**

**Oumaima Lamhour <sup>1</sup> , Larbi Safaa <sup>1</sup> and Dalia Perkumiene˙ 2,\***


**Abstract:** The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on tourism, giving significant importance to resilience strategies for this sector. Indeed, over the past three years, an increasing amount of research has been conducted on tourism resilience without any overall analysis of these publications. This study aims to conduct a bibliometric analysis in order to identify research trends in the field as well as explore the various gaps in the literature on the subject studied during and after the pandemic. A selection of 114 Scopus-indexed articles published between 2020 and early 2023 on tourism resilience was analyzed by two bibliometric tools, VOS viewer and R bibliometrix. The results show that China, the United States, and Spain are the leading countries in this field of research. The articles' authors, the affiliations, and the countries involved in research in this field were not able to compose a close, extensive, and collaborative network. The journal Sustainability (Switzerland), published by MDPI, is at the top of the list. This work identifies three dominant study themes: (1) tourism and sustainable resilience; (2) livelihood resilience; and (3) community resilience. This study provides a benchmark for future researchers with new study directions in the field of tourism resilience.

**Keywords:** resilience; tourism; COVID-19; bibliometric study; VOS viewer; R bibliometrix

#### **1. Introduction**

COVID-19, a global pandemic of unprecedented impact, has caused great concern in recent years. This crisis had a devastating effect on the tourism industry, including travel limitations and cancellations, border closures, and widespread business downturns [1–6].

The tourism sector was the first to suffer the flagrant consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. According to data from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the contribution of the travel and tourism sector to global output has fallen precipitously, from around 10.5% in 2019 to 5.5% in 2020, which will result in the loss of 62 million jobs worldwide [2]. Tourism companies found themselves obliged to face different risk situations, which pushed them to develop their resilience and adapt quickly to the different underlying disruptions, whether they were economic, political, or social [7–10].

The concept of resilience, which initially originated in the physical sciences and was transposed into the social sciences [11,12], has attracted increasing interest from researchers in the tourism sector [8,13–18]. Understanding the notion of resilience is conceptually complex, as it is part of a transdisciplinary approach [19]. It can be defined as a capacity to counteract a risk or to return to a state of stability after having experienced it, or as a process of interaction between prevention elements and the different risks [3]. In other words, a resilient system is the result of a structure capable of distinguishing itself by its ability to absorb, recover from, and adapt to different known and unknown risks [20]. In the context of tourism, resilience is defined as the industry's ability to diligently deal with

**Citation:** Lamhour, O.; Safaa, L.; Perkumiene, D. What Does the ˙ Concept of Resilience in Tourism Mean in the Time of COVID-19? Results of a Bibliometric Analysis. *Sustainability* **2023**, *15*, 9797. https://doi.org/10.3390/ su15129797

Academic Editors: Zygmunt Kruczek and Bartłomiej Walas

Received: 19 May 2023 Revised: 6 June 2023 Accepted: 7 June 2023 Published: 19 June 2023

**Copyright:** © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

disasters and self-inflicted crises in order to maintain stability while ensuring the flexibility and diversity necessary for innovation and further development [21,22].

Prior to COVID-19, Wut et al. (2021) conducted a systematic review of relevant research areas in the context of the tourism and hospitality industries regarding crisis management and the conceptualization of resilience [23]. Following this line and in order to complete the elucidation of the concept, this study explored a review of the literature on the concept of resilience in the tourism sector after the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, which began on 1 January 2020 and has spread around the world [24], especially since a significant amount of research has been conducted recently.

From this perspective, it is essential and significant to study how the concept of resilience in tourism was conceptualized after the emergence of the COVID-19 crisis. This study aims to review and investigate the literature dealing with the resilience of the tourism industry to external risks and shocks. Therefore, a descriptive and bibliometric analysis of the publications is conducted to characterize research trends.

Some researchers have already conducted and published bibliometric studies in various scientific fields, including tourism management sciences [25–30]. For example, Menons et al. have published a useful bibliometric study to help PhD students and tourism researchers identify emerging themes in tourism and hospitality after the COVID-19 pandemic and decide which journals to publish in and which issues to address in order to obtain a high-quality publication [31]. However, to our knowledge, no study has yet been published on the resilience of tourism after the spread of COVID-19. This study can also contribute to the decisions taken by practitioners to define a direction for the future of the tourism industry.

Bibliometric analysis uses mathematical methods to perform a quantitative analysis of research articles on a specific topic [9]. It can be used to assess the quality of studies, identify the most important areas of research, and anticipate future directions for studies [10]. By conducting a bibliometric analysis, it is possible to identify the characteristics and patterns of published articles in any scientific discipline. In addition, this popular approach can help identify schools of thought in a particular field of study [32], and it allows the researcher to summarize scientific production in terms of quantity and quality [33].

The objective of this work was not only to discover the different aspects of research and application of resilience in tourism in the face of different risks, but also to provide an opportunity to discuss what the authors have highlighted. Specifically, this review aimed to reveal the current state of research and identify emerging trends in this field in order to answer the following questions:

How was the growth of publications on the resilience of the tourism industry after the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic indexed in the Scopus database between 2020 and 25 April 2023?

What are the main journals, authors, and publications to consider for future studies on tourism resilience after the spread of COVID-19?

What are the main emerging topics in tourism research?

What research directions can be recommended?

To address this issue, a selection of 114 articles published between 2020 and 2023 was obtained from the Scopus database and analyzed using Bibliometrix R Studio and VOS viewer tools. The remainder of the article will be organized as follows: Section 2 describes the materials and methods that were applied to address the research topic. Section 3 illustrates the results of the bibliometric analysis, while Section 4 discusses the results. The most relevant research topics are detailed in Section 5. Section 6 presents a conclusion as well as proposals for future research.

#### **2. Materials and Methods**

The Scopus database was chosen to extract our selection of papers for bibliometric analysis. The papers in the study were collected from the Scopus database, a widely recognized and inclusive research database that is one of the largest bibliographic, abstract, and citation databases available today [31,34]. This database was also selected for its extensive coverage of tourism journals, which is superior to that of Web of Science [35–37]. To carry out this study, the guidelines of PRISMA 2020 (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) were followed in order to filter the data with a guarantee of objectivity and clarity [38].

Hossain et al. [39] defined this method as a systematic implementation following a predefined process or path, as shown in the Prism diagram [40], with four overarching steps: identification, selection, eligibility, and inclusion. We conducted a literature search in the Scopus database with the following search formula: 'resilience' and 'tourism'.

Only papers that are closely related to our topic were considered; in other words, only papers that had both concepts in the title, abstract, and keywords were considered.

As inclusion criteria, the type of papers (article, journal, and conference paper), the English language, the time frame (2020–2023), and the publication stage (final) were defined.

The specific choice of the period from January 2020 to 25 April 2023 (the period covered by the data extraction) is argued by our main objective of examining the literature addressing the topic of the resilience of the tourism sector after the emergence of COVID-19. The criterion of English as the language of publication is justified by our choice of keyword language standardization. English-language documents account for over 96% of online publications between 2020 and the date of data extraction. To refine our selection of articles, a manual filtration of the articles is required; in this framework, the articles that do not have a relationship with our subject have been removed from the sample. Finally, 114 publications that met the different inclusion criteria were retained (Figure 1).

To generate results, two bibliometric tools were adopted: the R bibliometrix tool and the VOS viewer program. Bibliometrix is a free scientific analysis and mapping tool that allows researchers to statistically measure productivity in a specific research area [41]. We used it to graphically present the number of publications per year, the most revealing journals and publications, the most cited authors with their affiliated institutions and countries, and the thematic map using an Excel file.

The VOS viewer program developed by van Eck and Waltman was used to analyze and visualize the relationships between the most significant co-words [42]. The program is freely available to the bibliometric research community. The VOS viewer can be used, for example, to make author or journal maps based on co-occurrence data or to build keyword maps based on co-occurrence data. Microsoft Office was also used to present the data in graph form (temporal distribution of articles and authors' affiliations). In our study, we used the VOS view to extract a network of the most relevant themes.

**Figure 1.** Filtering flowchart using the PRISMA method.

#### **Figure 1.** Filtering flowchart using the PRISMA method. **3. Results**

#### To generate results, two bibliometric tools were adopted: the R bibliometrix tool and *3.1. Summary Information*

the VOS viewer program. Bibliometrix is a free scientific analysis and mapping tool that allows researchers to statistically measure productivity in a specific research area [41]. We used it to graphically present the number of publications per year, the most revealing journals and publications, the most cited authors with their affiliated institutions and countries, and the thematic map using an Excel file. The VOS viewer program developed by van Eck and Waltman was used to analyze and visualize the relationships between the most significant co‐words [42]. The program The number of publication results including the words 'resilience' and 'tourism' in the title, abstract, and keywords is 114 papers, published between 2020 and 2023 in 62 sources. The results also indicate that 319 authors contributed to research on the topic of resilience in the tourism sector after the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic (Table 1). Research in this area grew exponentially between 2020 and 2022. Indeed, there were 19 new online publications in 2020 and 16 new online publications in the first four months of 2023. Singleauthor papers contributed 14 publications (Figure 2).

is freely available to the bibliometric research community. The VOS viewer can be used, for example, to make author or journal maps based on co‐occurrence data or to build Such a positive trend of continued growth is a dramatic indication that tourism resilience research between 2020 and April 2023 has great potential for the future.

keyword maps based on co‐occurrence data. Microsoft Office was also used to present the data in graph form (temporal distribution of articles and authors' affiliations). In our study, we used the VOS view to extract a network of the most relevant themes. Articles make up 93% of the published documents, while conference papers and reviews represent only 4% and 3%, respectively.

*Sustainability* **2023**, *15*, x. https://doi.org/10.3390/xxxxx www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability


The number of publication results including the words 'resilience' and 'tourism' in the title, abstract, and keywords is 114 papers, published between 2020 and 2023 in 62 sources. The results also indicate that 319 authors contributed to research on the topic of resilience in the tourism sector after the spread of the COVID‐19 pandemic (Table 1). Research in this area grew exponentially between 2020 and 2022. Indeed, there were 19 new online publications in 2020 and 16 new online publications in the first four months of

**Table 1.** Summary information generated with the R bibliometrix tool. 2023. Single‐author papers contributed 14 publications (Figure 2).

*Sustainability* **2023**, *15*, x FOR PEER REVIEW 5 of 25

**3. Results**

*3.1. Summary Information* 

Index of international cooperation 30.7

**Figure 2.** The temporal evolution of the number of publications since the spread of the COVID‐19 pandemic. **Figure 2.** The temporal evolution of the number of publications since the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

#### Such a positive trend of continued growth is a dramatic indication that tourism *3.2. Analysis of Keyword Occurrences*

*Sustainability* **2023**, *15*, x. https://doi.org/10.3390/xxxxx www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability resilience research between 2020 and April 2023 has great potential for the future. Articles make up 93% of the published documents, while conference papers and reviews represent only 4% and 3%, respectively. *3.2. Analysis of Keyword Occurrences* The main objective of a bibliometric study is to explore the themes and research trends in a predefined field, thus determining the most popular terms and the The main objective of a bibliometric study is to explore the themes and research trends in a predefined field, thus determining the most popular terms and the relationships between them [43], and this cannot be achieved without conducting an analysis of the keyword occurrences. Co-word analysis is a content analysis method based on the cooccurrence patterns of keywords in a manuscript collection. Its aim is to recognize the links between the ideas present in the themes addressed in the textual corpus. This approach has enabled the creation of a strategic diagram highlighting the relative relevance of topics related to the resilience of the tourism sector after the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic. The VOS viewer allows us to map the network of the most frequent keywords in our article selection [44]. A total of 23 keywords with a frequency of ≥ 5 co-occurrences were selected from 724 keywords (Table 2). As shown in Figure 3, a network representation of these keywords is generated by the program. The most common keywords are represented by circles, as the size of the circle increases the more frequently the term appears, while the links indicate the associations with the words, and the nodes of the same color group form a cluster of keywords. The thickness of the links shows the strength of the links; the greater the thickness, the greater the strength of association between the words and the frequency of their existence in the same publication. The distance between the two nodes is a negative function of the number of occurrences between the keywords.



**Figure 3.** A map of the keyword network generated by the VOS viewer software. **Figure 3.** A map of the keyword network generated by the VOS viewer software.

cluster 1 (12 key terms), cluster 2 (6 keywords), and cluster 3 (5 keywords).

Our network consists of three clusters with 154 links and 458 in link strength, namely

In previous studies, a visualization of the network through the VOS viewer allowed

Cluster 1, in red, has the term "COVID‐19" as a central node and includes other keywords such as "sustainability", "sustainable development", "ecotourism", and "disaster management". Therefore, this cluster concerns the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on sustainable tourism development as well as the strengthening of sustainable resilience to different shocks and risks. It should be noted that this cluster consists of the first four publications in ranking by the number of citations ("Reviving the tourism industry post‐COVID‐19: to a resilience‐based framework", "Responses to COVID‐19: the role of performance in the relationship between small hospitality enterprises' resilience and sustainable tourism development", "Psychological resilience, organizational resilience, and life satisfaction in tourism firms: insights from the Canterbury earthquakes", and "Time for a reset? COVID‐19 and tourism resilience"). This indicates the growing interest and importance of this research topic. Prayag is the dominant author in this cluster, with three publications. This author proposes a conceptual reflection based on the "new normal" of tourism resilience (engineering, ecology, and socio‐ecology), which can be argued by the increased trend of topics dealing with the integration of sustainable practices in tourism resilience. This group is composed of more than half of

The terms "resilience" and "tourism" are the largest nodes in Cluster 2 in green, followed by "China", "pandemic" and "livelihood". As a result, this cluster focuses on the perception of livelihood resilience, with most of the publications related to this cluster adopting China as the research terrain. In this framework, we can mention the

*Sustainability* **2023**, *15*, x. https://doi.org/10.3390/xxxxx www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability

the number of publications (52 articles).

by Della Corte et al. [37].

Our network consists of three clusters with 154 links and 458 in link strength, namely cluster 1 (12 key terms), cluster 2 (6 keywords), and cluster 3 (5 keywords).

In previous studies, a visualization of the network through the VOS viewer allowed for the generation of 11 groups by Wang et al. [35], 6 groups by Paeffgen [36], and 4 groups by Della Corte et al. [37].

Cluster 1, in red, has the term "COVID-19" as a central node and includes other keywords such as "sustainability", "sustainable development", "ecotourism", and "disaster management". Therefore, this cluster concerns the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sustainable tourism development as well as the strengthening of sustainable resilience to different shocks and risks. It should be noted that this cluster consists of the first four publications in ranking by the number of citations ("Reviving the tourism industry post-COVID-19: to a resilience-based framework", "Responses to COVID-19: the role of performance in the relationship between small hospitality enterprises' resilience and sustainable tourism development", "Psychological resilience, organizational resilience, and life satisfaction in tourism firms: insights from the Canterbury earthquakes", and "Time for a reset? COVID-19 and tourism resilience"). This indicates the growing interest and importance of this research topic. Prayag is the dominant author in this cluster, with three publications. This author proposes a conceptual reflection based on the "new normal" of tourism resilience (engineering, ecology, and socio-ecology), which can be argued by the increased trend of topics dealing with the integration of sustainable practices in tourism resilience. This group is composed of more than half of the number of publications (52 articles).

The terms "resilience" and "tourism" are the largest nodes in Cluster 2 in green, followed by "China", "pandemic" and "livelihood". As a result, this cluster focuses on the perception of livelihood resilience, with most of the publications related to this cluster adopting China as the research terrain. In this framework, we can mention the publications of Chen, who works on the sustainability of livelihoods in the face of changes in China's rural areas. He proposes that collaborative agency can be a pillar of successful transformation.

Cluster 3 in blue is the smallest group in the network, and the word "tourism development" with the highest number of occurrences is related to other keywords such as "community resilience", "community-based tourism", "tourist destination" and "tourism market". This group of words represents the theme of the impact of the pandemic on community-based tourism and the building of community resilience as an effective remedy to unpredictable events. Kim is the leading author of this cluster, with five publications focusing on the importance of tourism in community resilience and its critical role in dealing with various risks.

To obtain themes, the thematic analysis uses groups of authors' keywords and their interconnections. These themes are characterized by their properties (density and centrality). Density is represented by the vertical axis, while centrality is represented by the horizontal axis (Figure 4).

Motor themes (upper-right quadrant): sustainability, sustainable development, ecotourism, China, COVID-19, tourism management, tourist destination, ecotourism; although these are developed and relevant themes, they are almost too general. Because of their high centrality and density, they are the main topics for structuring a research field. Niche themes (upper-left quadrant): rural population, rural development, psychology, and New Zealand; these have well-developed internal links but few external links. These themes therefore have a high centrality but a low density, and their contribution to the development of the tourism resilience field remains marginal. Emerging or declining themes (lower-left quadrant): governance and indigenous knowledge; these themes are still at an embryonic stage within the theme of tourism resilience in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The themes of community resource and ecosystem resilience seem to be emerging but crosscutting with the basic themes, indicating that some of the topics within these themes are necessary to develop the field of tourism resilience. Basic themes (lower-right quadrant):

rural area, economic activity, and culture; these are low-density, high-centrality themes that cut across this area of research. *Sustainability* **2023**, *15*, x FOR PEER REVIEW 9 of 25

#### **Figure 4.** Thematic map generated by R bibliometrix. **Figure 4.** Thematic map generated by R bibliometrix.

#### *3.3. Analysis of Contributing Journals 3.3. Analysis of Contributing Journals*

ANNALS OF TOURISM RESEARCH

The 114 papers on tourism resilience whose year of publication is between 2020 and 2023 are published in a wide range of journals (62 journals). Topping the list is the journal Sustainability (Switzerland), with the largest number of publications (n = 20) edited by MDPI, while Tourism Geographies (n = 6) came in second, published by Taylor & Francis Group, and Current Issues in Tourism came in third (n = 5). Tourism Management Perspectives, Current Issues in Tourism, and Sustainability (Switzerland) are the most relevant journals in terms of total citations, with 351, 252, and 106 citations, respectively. Table 3 shows the top 10 journals with the percentage of contributions, h\_index, m\_index, citations, quartile, and publisher of each journal. The 114 papers on tourism resilience whose year of publication is between 2020 and 2023 are published in a wide range of journals (62 journals). Topping the list is the journal Sustainability (Switzerland), with the largest number of publications (n = 20) edited by MDPI, while Tourism Geographies (n = 6) came in second, published by Taylor & Francis Group, and Current Issues in Tourism came in third (n = 5). Tourism Management Perspectives, Current Issues in Tourism, and Sustainability (Switzerland) are the most relevant journals in terms of total citations, with 351, 252, and 106 citations, respectively. Table 3 shows the top 10 journals with the percentage of contributions, h\_index, m\_index, citations, quartile, and publisher of each journal.

**Table 3.** The most active journals between 2020 and 2023, according to data provided by Bibliometric and Scimago Journal & Country Rank (SJR). **Table 3.** The most active journals between 2020 and 2023, according to data provided by Bibliometric and Scimago Journal & Country Rank (SJR).


EMPIRICAL INSIGHTS 2% <sup>3</sup> 1.50 <sup>16</sup> Q1 Elsevier


**Table 3.** *Cont.*

#### *3.4. Analysis of the Most Cited Publications*

Table 4 presents the most impactful articles in the field of tourism resilience based on the number of citations received by the authors. The results reveal that two articles were cited more than 100 times: "Reviving tourism industry post-COVID-19: A resiliencebased framework" (n = 314) and "Responses to COVID-19: The role of performance in the relationship between small hospitality enterprises' resilience and sustainable tourism development" (n = 122). These two contributions were written by Sharma et al. [45] and Sobaih et al. [46], respectively. The first publication is a study that proposes government response, technological innovation, local ownership, and consumer and employee confidence as key factors in tourism resilience and announces that it is time to transform the tourism industry with a new framework based on sustainable tourism. The second publication validates the direct and significant impact of resilience on sustainable tourism development through performance mediations.




**Table 4.** *Cont.*

"Psychological resilience, organizational resilience, and life satisfaction in tourism firms: insights from the Canterbury earthquakes", written by Prayag et al. [47], comes in third place (n = 89). This study explores the relationship between psychological and organizational resilience. Traskevich and Fontanari [49] had the lowest number of total citations (n = 25) in this top ten selection with the publication "Tourism Potentials in Post-COVID19: The Concept of Destination Resilience for Advanced Sustainable Management in Tourism".

#### *3.5. The Most Prolific Authors and Countries*

Based on the bibliometric analysis, Table 5 describes the most active authors in the research area of tourism resilience during and after the pandemic, along with the rate of coauthored papers. At the beginning of the list, we find Kim, who is the most present author in this field with five publications [129,130,139,140,142]. Two of these articles were written in collaboration with Yang, who shares second place as the most active author. These authors propose community resilience as a primary tool to cope with environmental uncertainty and adverse events, especially COVID-19, and the role of tourism destination intelligence and tourism industry specialization in this resilience. Among the most important authors in terms of the number of publications, also in second place, we find Prayag with three publications. In this work, the author examines three types of resilience: psychological, employee, and organizational. This work [47] gives future researchers a clear understanding of current perspectives on the resilience of destinations, organizations, and tourists [145] and of emerging research directions for the resilience of tourism with its new normality in engineering, ecology, and socio-ecology. In the same rank, we find Zhang with three

publications covering different research themes in tourism resilience: community tourism, sustainable resilience, and economic resilience.


**Table 5.** The most active authors on the theme of resilience in tourism.

It is revealed that China is the most contributing country (21 papers) to research on the resilience of the tourism industry after the spread of COVID-19, followed by the United States (17 papers) and Spain (13 papers). The UK shares fourth place with Australia with a contribution of nine papers (Table 6). To shed light on the social structure of the scientific community dealing with our topic, a map of the geographical collaboration of authors on the topic of resilience in the tourism sector has been presented. It can be noted that the United States (14 in total link strength), the United Kingdom, Australia, and China are the four most collaborative countries. The strongest collaborative links are between the United States and the United Kingdom, China and Australia, and China and Japan. Spain has not achieved a single collaboration with the United Kingdom despite its third-place ranking in terms of the number of publications. Despite these collaborative links between these countries, the network of co-country researchers in the field of tourism resilience remains rather distant and less cooperative internationally.


**Table 6.** The most contributing countries on the theme of resilience in tourism.

The Bibliometrix or Biblioshiny Program allows researchers to export from the Scopus database a three-field plot of their choice; we preferred to examine the relationship between authors, countries, and keywords to get a clear idea about the scientific community on this topic [44]. As shown in Figure 5, there is an interaction between authors (left), countries (middle), and keywords (right) in the field of tourism industry resilience. In summary, U.S. researchers are interested in issues related to the resilience of community-based tourism to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic; Chinese researchers are interested in the resilience of the livelihoods of households residing in tourism villages; and the Australian community is focusing on the resilience of tourism to the COVID-19 pandemic. This explains the increased interest of researchers in the topic under study (Figure 6).

*Sustainability* **2023**, *15*, x FOR PEER REVIEW 13 of 25

*Sustainability* **2023**, *15*, x FOR PEER REVIEW 13 of 25

**Figure 5.** Geographic map of international cooperation generated by Bibliometrix. **Figure 5.** Geographic map of international cooperation generated by Bibliometrix.

**Figure 5.** Geographic map of international cooperation generated by Bibliometrix.

**Figure 6.** A three-field plot or Sankey diagram generated by R bibliometrix.

#### **Figure 6.** A three‐field plot or Sankey diagram generated by R bibliometrix. **Figure 6.** A three‐field plot or Sankey diagram generated by R bibliometrix. **4. Discussion**

*Sustainability* **2023**, *15*, x. https://doi.org/10.3390/xxxxx www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability **4. Discussion** The last pandemic revealed the sensitivity of the tourism sector to various external shocks, such as natural disasters, armed wars, pandemics, political events, economic situations, and security problems [146]. Hence, stakeholders are obliged to strengthen the *Sustainability* **2023**, *15*, x. https://doi.org/10.3390/xxxxx www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability **4. Discussion** The last pandemic revealed the sensitivity of the tourism sector to various external shocks, such as natural disasters, armed wars, pandemics, political events, economic situations, and security problems [146]. Hence, stakeholders are obliged to strengthen the The last pandemic revealed the sensitivity of the tourism sector to various external shocks, such as natural disasters, armed wars, pandemics, political events, economic situations, and security problems [146]. Hence, stakeholders are obliged to strengthen the resilience of this industry [147]. This study was based on a descriptive and bibliometric analysis of Scopus-indexed publication data to identify up-to-date research on the resilience of the tourism industry at the time of the crisis and particularly after the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, thus contributing to the debate on the resilience of the tourism sector in the face of various risks and disruptions and the prospects for a successful recovery [148]. Our objective is to map in terms of quantity and content. To do so, different types of

analysis were performed on 114 selected publications based on the guidelines of the PRISMA diagram, namely: co-author analysis, contributing journal analysis, the spatial distribution of publications, collaboration analysis between countries, and co-word analysis through the VOS program visualization.

The significant and accelerated increase in the number of publications between 2020 and early 2023 indicates that research on tourism industry resilience remains rich in future potential. Additionally, the large share (60%) of articles that are open access may show that the scientific community is increasingly interested in the issue of tourism resilience, especially post-COVID-19, and is also seeking to encourage the reading of articles in this area. This may also be a sign of increased funding for this research. The networks of co-authors and co-countries remain rather distant and less collaborative since the nodes of authors and countries were created individually. This may indicate that most researchers completed their research independently, with little or no cooperation from other researchers. However, some researchers did cooperate and collaborate with two to eight other researchers to produce results in the area of tourism sector resilience. Notable collaborations are only between the United States and the United Kingdom, China and Australia, and China and Japan. The percentage of conference papers related to the topic does not exceed 4%, which effectively confirms the reduced level of international collaboration in our sample, hence the need to establish more collaboration between authors and countries in the field. According to Umar et al. [43], research cooperation plays a crucial role in enhancing the quality and relevance of research work and responding to different global issues and problems, especially in the field of tourism.

This study also revealed that Sustainability (Switzerland) is the highest-ranked journal by far in terms of the number of publications (20 articles) and the third highest in terms of the number of citations (106 citations), after the journal Tourism Management with 351 citations and Current Issues in Tourism with 252 citations. The number of citations is a primary parameter in the bibliometric analysis, giving a guideline to future researchers on which journals to choose to publish their results [149]. According to our results, the seven journals that top the list of ranking journals by citations are listed in the Q1 and Q2 quartiles. Kim J., affiliated with the University of Florida, Gainesville, USA, is the most active author with five publications. This affiliation holds the number one position with seven publications. In terms of citations, the institutions of the University School of Management Studies, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University in India, the Japan Institute of Management Studies in India, and the University of Puerto Rico in the United States collectively top the list with 314 citations.

#### **5. Research Topics with the Highest Acuity**

Research on the risks and external shocks that can affect the development of the tourism industry has largely confirmed the need for resilience in this context [39].

Resilience derives from the Latin word "resilio", which means "to bounce back". In the physical sciences, it can be evaluated as the ability of an object to return to its previous state following a shock or continuous pressure [20,57,60,74,127]. Recently, this concept has been applied in several domains, such as ecological and social systems and ecosystems. The concept of resilience in tourism is defined as the ability of the industry to recover from disruptions while minimizing potential negative consequences [150]. However, several studies have endorsed a multidimensional approach to this concept [103] based on learning, diversity, and the ability to adapt in various situations.

The two concepts of vulnerability and resilience are closely related in studies; in fact, Delaplace et al. [19], Ho et al. [72], and Prayag [10] confirmed that the two concepts are antipodes. What makes the vulnerability of tourism increase and its resilience decrease? Other researchers [28] have proposed that vulnerability and resilience are distinct but highly compatible concepts that can be used to analyze the resistance of the tourism sector in the face of different changes.

Our main objective is to identify popular research topics related to the conceptualization of the resilience of the tourism industry in the period after the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, since the keywords featured in the articles are linked to topics in these publications, an occurrence analysis of the keywords that appear in our article selection was conducted. By linking to previous reviews on either organizational resilience during the COVID-19 era [151] or destination resilience [152], as well as post-pandemic tourism recovery based on resilience [28], similar information on the increase in publications over time can be revealed, indicating a growing demand for academic research related to the conceptualization of tourism resilience. Our main objective is to identify popular research topics related to the conceptualization of the resilience of the tourism industry in the period after the spread of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Additionally, since the keywords featured in the articles are linked to topics in these publications, an occurrence analysis of the keywords that appear in our article selection was conducted. By linking to previous reviews on either organizational resilience during the COVID‐19 era [151] or destination resilience [152], as well as post‐pandemic tourism recovery based on resilience [28], similar information on the increase in publications over time can be revealed, indicating a growing demand for academic research related to the conceptualization of tourism resilience.

The two concepts of vulnerability and resilience are closely related in studies; in fact, Delaplace et al. [19], Ho et al. [72], and Prayag [10] confirmed that the two concepts are antipodes. What makes the vulnerability of tourism increase and its resilience decrease? Other researchers [28] have proposed that vulnerability and resilience are distinct but highly compatible concepts that can be used to analyze the resistance of the tourism sector

The results outline three popular research themes, with future sections explaining these themes in detail (Figure 7). The results outline three popular research themes, with future sections explaining these themes in detail (Figure 7).

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in the face of different changes.

**Figure 7.** Thematic framework. **Figure 7.** Thematic framework.

#### *5.1. Integrating Sustainable Management into Tourism Resilience 5.1. Integrating Sustainable Management into Tourism Resilience*

Studies of tourism resilience are closely related to the concept of sustainability. For Sharma et al. [45], resilience to various risks, disasters, and pandemics directly and indirectly impacts the development of sustainable tourism. Now that Sobaih et al. [46] have confirmed that tourism in the pre‐disaster stage must be transformed into sustainable tourism to build resilience, especially after the COVID‐19 pandemic, planning for sustainable tourism becomes a crucial act [53]. Yiu and Cheung [59] proposed that the development of sustainability is based on the dynamic capabilities of resilience. The results of this study reveal that these dynamic capabilities mediate and moderate the long‐ term relationship between resilience and sustainable tourism. However, the identified conceptual framework of mediation is related to only three resilience factors: the resilience network, organizationalresilience factors, and individualresilience factors. When tourism destinations are faced with undesirable risks, resilience is presented as a mode of Studies of tourism resilience are closely related to the concept of sustainability. For Sharma et al. [45], resilience to various risks, disasters, and pandemics directly and indirectly impacts the development of sustainable tourism. Now that Sobaih et al. [46] have confirmed that tourism in the pre-disaster stage must be transformed into sustainable tourism to build resilience, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, planning for sustainable tourism becomes a crucial act [53]. Yiu and Cheung [59] proposed that the development of sustainability is based on the dynamic capabilities of resilience. The results of this study reveal that these dynamic capabilities mediate and moderate the long-term relationship between resilience and sustainable tourism. However, the identified conceptual framework of mediation is related to only three resilience factors: the resilience network, organizational resilience factors, and individual resilience factors. When tourism destinations are faced with undesirable risks, resilience is presented as a mode of adaptation, which translates into innovative planning techniques that lead to more sustainable lifestyles for their inhabitants [15], such as creating alternative products, enriching local knowledge, and improving the destination's image [65].

*Sustainability* **2023**, *15*, x. https://doi.org/10.3390/xxxxx www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability Conceptualizing the relationship between resilience and sustainability can open up new avenues of research, indicating how to create more sustainable and livable local environments around the world while examining other national and international contexts with the involvement of different stakeholders.

#### *5.2. Livelihood Resilience*

The concept of livelihoods consists of the abilities, knowledge, and actions of people to succeed in life, as well as their values, goals, and choices [62]. It includes the skills, assets, and activities that people need to succeed in life [90,124,153,154]. After the changes and mutations that the world has experienced in recent years, livelihood resilience is becoming a serious concern for researchers and even managers, especially in the tourism sector [90]. Livelihood resilience can be defined as the adaptability of actors and their abilities to take advantage of disturbances to improve their situation and preserve their way of life [9,48,58,90,92,101,124]. Requirements such as human agency, empowerment, independence, and access to resources are necessary for this resilience.

Shekari et al. [101] suggest that individual and collective agencies have a primary role in livelihood resilience. Chen et al. highlighted the role of vulnerable communities in enhancing resilience by using their existing potential to diversify their livelihood strategies [90].

One study revealed that the resilience of rural households' livelihoods strengthens their willingness to participate. Based on survey data in 22 tourism poverty alleviation villages located in the poor regions of western China, among the livelihood coping strategy groups, namely agriculture-oriented households, migratory households, and tourismparticipating households, this study also revealed that buffering capacity was a significant driver of this willingness [101].

Through the analysis, it can be seen that Chinese researchers are experts on this topic; indeed, Dang et al. [120] revealed that among the first trends in Southeast Asia after the COVID-19 pandemic was the development and diversification of livelihoods. The majority of this research identifies the impact of this crisis on livelihoods. This can serve to provide several starting points for researchers to validate these implications and propose livelihood resilience strategies in other contexts.

#### *5.3. Community Resilience*

The COVID-19 pandemic has been destructive to international tourism, negatively impacting destinations, organizations, and local communities [92]. Communal tourism, based on community involvement and participation, community control and empowerment, and conservation and its contribution to community welfare and development, has also been severely affected [127]. This has prompted local community stakeholders to reflect on strategies for building community resilience.

Because there is no single definition for the concept of resilience, there is only agreement among most authors that resilience is the ability to bend, rebound, and survive. The definition of the term "community resilience" is linked to events and contexts. Noorashid and Chin [128] defined community resilience as the mobilization of community resources to thrive in an environment marked by uncertainty, change, risk, and surprise. Social capital has an important role in building community resilience (governance, finance, and competence); indeed, it allows for the ability to promote resilience in the collaborative management of community natural resources necessary for community tourism development [125]. Musavengane and Kloppers [125] stated that a cohesive social structure with a strong cultural identity consisting of customs and traditions allows for adaptation to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

#### *5.4. Model Framework that Connects the Themes that Can Be Tested in Further Research*

From a research perspective, it is hypothesized that open avenues could be relevant for other local communities seeking to improve their resilience to COVID-19 and climate change based on social capital and the definition of community resilience.

According to the abstracts of the articles, the resilience of tourism following the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic was extensively investigated in case studies, particularly in China. China was one of the most investigated countries in this study, and it also had the highest number of articles published. However, it should be highlighted that this could be

read differently due to the fact that the pandemic began in this country and that China has taken a different political approach to COVID-19 measures. Indeed, it is conceivable that most COVID-19 studies in China began earlier than in other parts of the world; therefore, this area of research necessitates academics focusing on conceptualizing tourism business resilience. the world; therefore, this area of research necessitates academics focusing on conceptualizing tourism business resilience. Based on the study of keyword occurrences, a conceptual framework is suggested that brings together the three themes of resilience in sustainable tourism, communities, and livelihoods that can be tested in further research (Figure 8).

*5.4. Model Framework That Connects the Themes That Can Be Tested in Further Research*

change based on social capital and the definition of community resilience.

From a research perspective, it is hypothesized that open avenues could be relevant for other local communities seeking to improve their resilience to COVID‐19 and climate

According to the abstracts of the articles, the resilience of tourism following the emergence of the COVID‐19 pandemic was extensively investigated in case studies, particularly in China. China was one of the most investigated countries in this study, and it also had the highest number of articles published. However, it should be highlighted that this could be read differently due to the fact that the pandemic began in this country and that China has taken a different political approach to COVID‐19 measures. Indeed, it is conceivable that most COVID‐19 studies in China began earlier than in other parts of

Based on the study of keyword occurrences, a conceptual framework is suggested that brings together the three themes of resilience in sustainable tourism, communities, and livelihoods that can be tested in further research (Figure 8).

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**Figure 8.** A model framework that connects the themes that can be tested in further research.

**Figure 8.** A model framework that connects the themes that can be tested in further research. The conceptual framework highlights the links and interactions between resilience, sustainable tourism, communities, and livelihoods. Resilience refers to the ability of a system to resist, adapt, and recover from disturbances and shocks. In the context of tourism, this implies the ability of a tourism sector to cope with crises, such as natural disasters, health crises, or climate change, while maintaining its activities and preserving its long‐term environmental, social, and economic impacts. Sustainable tourism aims to promote tourism practices that minimize negative impacts on the environment, preserve local culture and resources, and contribute to the well‐being of local communities. The aim is to develop tourism that is environmentally friendly, socially inclusive, and economically viable. Communities are key players in sustainable tourism and the sector's resilience because they are directly impacted by tourism and can play an active role in The conceptual framework highlights the links and interactions between resilience, sustainable tourism, communities, and livelihoods. Resilience refers to the ability of a system to resist, adapt, and recover from disturbances and shocks. In the context of tourism, this implies the ability of a tourism sector to cope with crises, such as natural disasters, health crises, or climate change, while maintaining its activities and preserving its long-term environmental, social, and economic impacts. Sustainable tourism aims to promote tourism practices that minimize negative impacts on the environment, preserve local culture and resources, and contribute to the well-being of local communities. The aim is to develop tourism that is environmentally friendly, socially inclusive, and economically viable. Communities are key players in sustainable tourism and the sector's resilience because they are directly impacted by tourism and can play an active role in planning, managing, and promoting sustainable tourism. Local communities can benefit economically from tourism, but it is also essential to ensure that they retain their cultural identity, heritage, and traditional livelihoods.

planning, managing, and promoting sustainable tourism. Local communities can benefit economically from tourism, but it is also essential to ensure that they retain their cultural identity, heritage, and traditional livelihoods. Livelihoods refer to the economic activities that enable individuals and communities to meet their basic needs. In the context of tourism, it is important to ensure that the livelihoods of local communities are not compromised but rather strengthened by sustainable tourism. This can involve the creation of local employment opportunities, the Livelihoods refer to the economic activities that enable individuals and communities to meet their basic needs. In the context of tourism, it is important to ensure that the livelihoods of local communities are not compromised but rather strengthened by sustainable tourism. This can involve the creation of local employment opportunities, the development of local entrepreneurship, and the promotion of traditional know-how. This conceptual framework highlights the importance of promoting a holistic approach to tourism that integrates resilience, sustainable tourism, local communities, and livelihoods. It underlines the need to develop strategies and policies that take these different aspects into account to ensure the long-term sustainability and resilience of the tourism sector.

*Sustainability* **2023**, *15*, x. https://doi.org/10.3390/xxxxx www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability In our paper, we have addressed emerging research themes and provided suggestions to help researchers and the stockholders of the tourism industry develop and improve their research programs and practices. We have also proposed a conceptual framework of tourism resilience based on the themes found in the keyword occurrence analysis, which presents a solid basis for future research to test, develop, and discuss.

> The aim is to conduct original and transformative studies that will contribute to positive reconstruction, making tourism a more sustainable, responsible, and meaningful activity. Identifying authors in our study, their affiliations, and countries, as well as the journals that have made the greatest contribution in this field of research, helps future researchers identify the relevant literature and publish their work in high-quality journals with a direct correlation to their research topic.

#### **6. Conclusions, Limitations, and Perspectives for Further Research**

We have a favorable trend of continuous growth in this topic area, which is a strong indicator that tourism resilience research between 2020 and April 2023 has significant future potential.

This network of keywords is characterized by the dominance of the keywords tourism, resilience, and COVID-19 and the emergence of three popular topics: sustainable resilience, livelihood resilience, and community resilience. China, the United States, Spain, and Australia are the countries most involved in tourism resilience research. The collaborative network between these countries remains distant and less collaborative, which makes it necessary for the research community in this area to develop more collaborations to gain an international perspective on the research issues. The highest-ranked journal is Sustainability (Switzerland), with 20 publications, which is an open-access journal with a rapid review process and a peer review committee. This study shows the large number of publications edited by this journal. Kim, the most recent contributor to this topic with five articles, advocates for community resilience as a fundamental strategy for dealing with environmental uncertainty and catastrophic occurrences, particularly COVID-19, as well as the importance of tourism destination information and tourism industry specialization in this resilience. This means that he has carried out in-depth research and produced significant results that enrich the overall understanding of community resilience.

Our study will be a basis for researchers to choose the most relevant journals and to have a clear view of new research tracks, as well as to encourage the cooperation of authors and countries in untapped research fields.

In this field of study, which is rarely conducted on this scale, several articles on the resilience of the tourism industry have been published on a global scale.

Staying current and writing on issues with future potential can help researchers accomplish successful publications. The purpose of this bibliometric study is to provide an overview of the current literature on the resilience of the tourism sector following the spread of COVID-19, which is one of the most relevant subjects for future research, and to recommend a conceptual framework that brings together three themes of resilience in sustainable tourism, communities, and livelihoods that can be tested in future research.

Our study is limited by the choice of a single database, as only articles published between 2020 and 2023 in the Scopus database were selected as an infrastructure for the bibliometric study. It is recommended to combine future searches between several databases, namely Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and PubMed, to ensure deeper results.

In conclusion, this work presents a comprehensive review of research on tourism resilience after the emergence of COVID-19 that may be a relevant source for future research.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, L.S., O.L. and D.P.; methodology, O.L., L.S. and D.P.; data curation, O.L., L.S. and D.P.; writing—original draft preparation, O.L., D.P. and L.S.; writing review and editing, D.P. and L.S. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.

**Data Availability Statement:** Not applicable.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.

#### **References**


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