Current Overview of Tourism Governance: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

This article aims to offer a comprehensive theoretical approach to tourism governance and its current state by conducting a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis. The study seeks to understand how governance aligns the interests of governments, businesses, and local communities in order to promote sustainable and competitive development in a globalized environment. Based on the SALSA framework, the research analyzed a sample of 84 scientific studies extracted from the Web of Science and Scopus databases. Quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques were employed using statistical and content analysis tools to identify trends, regions, stakeholders, and key governance attributes. Findings reveal a significant increase in tourism governance research since 2016, particularly after the pandemic. The most studied area is tourism planning, followed by community-based tourism and smart destinations. Geographically, Asia and Europe dominate scientific production, with the public and private sectors being the main actors. The study identifies three fundamental models or "clusters": community-oriented governance, data-driven smart governance, and network-based governance. Business management approaches tend to focus on efficiency and planning, leaving critical political dimensions such as power, trust, and distributive justice in the background. Although governance has evolved toward more collaborative forms, a technocratic logic appears to be emerging that could replace democratic deliberation. The effectiveness of these models depends on their adaptation to the local context and the balance between economic competitiveness and the empowerment of local actors.