The Progress of Ecotourism Research in China: Identifying Key Areas, Highlights, and Trends Through Bibliometric Analysis

Ecological civilization has emerged as an important component within the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) in China. As a pivotal direction of ecological development, the total number, scope, and complexity of China's ecotourism are steadily increasing. However, systematic reviews of the relevant literature have been lacking over the past few years. This study employs CiteSpace for a visual analysis of China's ecotourism research from 2014 to 2024 in the Web of Science Core Collections (WoSCC) database. The main findings are as follows: (1) Ecotourism research in China can be categorized into three development stages, with research groups established at leading institutions. (2) Research hotspots include case studies, management and assessment, tourist and stakeholder issues, macro and middle policy, cultural and ethical concerns. (3) "Quality" has emerged as a frontier topic; multiple disciplines, such as new technologies, pedagogy, and social governance, have contributed pathways for quality enhancement. (4) Notable research highlights include the incorporation of new elements, comparative analyses, interdisciplinary approaches, smart governance, and a broadening governance scope. (5) Research trends show increasing depth and breadth, evolving hotspots, and a growing emphasis on ecotourism management. In conclusion, ecotourism plays a crucial role in ecological, cultural, and economic sustainability. However, as demand for the development of ecotourism increases, new challenges will inevitably emerge. Therefore, it is imperative to adopt a systematic approach, leverage multidisciplinary efforts, and strengthen original theoretical research to explore more development paths and comprehensive research on ecotourism in China.