Systematic Review of Research Papers in the Field of Tourism Social Studies

Reviewing research in any field provides a clear understating of theoretical approaches, methods, and techniques used in that field. It also expresses theoretical and methodological developments. In addition to general issues about the nature and evolution of scientific knowledge, Paradigmatic topics and new studies on tourism (which can provide theories on the evolution of tourism knowledge), systematic reviews provide verifiable and firm conclusions about the evolution of research on a relevant topic. In order to reveal insights and social thoughts about tourism, this article utilized content analysis to review the social studies of tourism in scientific journals in Iran. According to Cohen’s sociology of tourism, tourism social studies are classified into four categories: (a) the tourist-his motivations, attitudes, reactions, and roles; (b) the relations and perceptions of tourists and locals; (c) the structure of the tourist system; and (d) impacts of tourism. Research findings show that the structure of the tourist system is the most prevalent social issue in the Iranian scholars’ research. Tourists, impacts of tourism, and the relations and perceptions of tourists and locals are in the next places respectively. The results show that tourism is not popular among sociologists in Iran. Geographers are more active in producing and publishing social issues of tourism, and they have published most of the articles in all of the four categories. Results do not show growth in interdisciplinary studies of tourism but they confirm multidisciplinary research that was carried out mainly by using quantitative methods and through surveys of stakeholders and experts. The results show that there are many conceptual and methodological gaps in the development of knowledge between the tourism industry and its impact on policy-making, development, and management of commercial tourism in Iran.