A Systematic Review of Iranian Research in the Field of Geotourism Studies

Over the past 14 years, considerable scientific articles on geotourism have been published in Iran. In this regard, the aim of this study is to analyze the level of development of geotourism studies in Iran. The central question of the present study is “how is the quantity and quality of accumulation and production of science in the field of geotourism in the context of Iran?” To this aim, the systematic review method and the paradigm funnel technique are employed. In this regard, a total number of 129 articles published in Iranian journals from 2006 to 2018 were enumerated. The results indicated that from 2010 to 2016, a considerable growth in the number of published articles on geotourism was witnessed. However, in the following years, probably due to the theoretical saturation obtained from the findings of empirical studies, a decrease in the number of accepted and published articles in technical journals was observed. In other words, due to lack of creativity and innovation in such articles, journals are not interested in publishing articles with similar topics and contents. Finally, through finding the gaps in the related literature, based on the paradigm funnel technique, new research ideas and pathways for future studies are provided.