Bibliometric analysis of research on disabled tourism: Example of Web of Science

The aim of the study is to reveal the current status of scientific publication types related to disabled tourism using quantitative bibliometric methods. In order to achieve this aim, the word "disabled tourism" was scanned in all areas of the Web of Science database and 438 publications were reached between 2000 and 2024. Statistical analyses were performed using online VOSviewer and Bibliometrix R package program Biblioshing interface for visual mapping and network (node) analyses. The analysis was also completed with Microsoft Excel support. In the findings of the study, it was determined that 438 publications were written using 13,192 references and the average number of references was 30,119. It was seen that scientific studies published on 304 types of publication sources (books, journals, etc.) were presented by 1,248 authors. The number of single-authored studies was 78. In studies related to disabled tourism, the number of words preferred by the authors was 1,458. The most repeated keyword in the research is "Disability" (n=71), the country that contributes to disabled tourism research, has the largest share in the field, South Korea, and the authority institution in the field with scientific production is the University of Aveiro. The most productive and highest scientific impact author was determined as Simon Dacry. Although Sustainability Journal ranks first in terms of published findings, it was determined that Tourism Management Journal is the most cited in this field. It was determined that the data on disabled tourism complies with Bradford Law, but deviates from Lotka Law. In addition, it was revealed that the expected findings as a result of the application of Zipf Law contradicted. This study, which opens a new dimension in disabled tourism research, will strengthen the theoretical and empirical structure of the field. It is thought that it will guide the determination of the future research agenda of the field.