The Journal of Heritage Tourism: a bibliometric overview since its inception

In commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the Journal of Heritage Tourism (JHT) in 2020, this article offers a comprehensive overview of the journal from 2006 to 2019. The prime objective of this study is to identify the leading trends that have influenced the journal and the prominent themes published in the journal using a bibliometric approach. This study uses an extensive range of bibliometric tools, including keyword co-occurrence analysis, citation evolution structure, articles citing JHT, most cited articles, most prominent authors, institutions and countries publishing in JHT. The study uses the Scopus database to extract the bibliographic data of the journal. Additionally, graphical visualization of the bibliographic data is presented employing VOSviewer and Gephi software. Findings indicate that JHT has consistently published new developments in heritage tourism research. Major themes discussed in the journal includes cultural heritage, heritage management, Indigenous tourism, sustainable development, religious tourism, dark tourism, sustainable tourism and intangible heritage. US-based authors have contributed most to the journal, but this figure is changing rapidly. JHT has positioned itself as one of the most influential journals in the indexed area of tourism studies by publishing consistently unique and intellectually stimulating research.