Mapping the current and future issues of tourism entrepreneurship research: a systematic review of key themes and research gaps

Tourism entrepreneurship (TE) is a promising research area in the tourism industry. However, despite an increasing number of studies on TE, a gap remains in the form of a more synthesised understanding of TE research, from which researchers, policymakers, and practitioners can develop supportive frameworks that encourage entrepreneurship in tourism. By conducting a Systematic Literature review (SLR), this study aimed to explore the thematic map of TE literature from historical, contemporary, and theoretical perspectives. Using a mixed-method approach of qualitative and quantitative analysis, this study presents the knowledge map of the TE field. The thematic analysis revealed four primary themes in TE research: (a) tourism entrepreneurs and tourism development, (b) sustainable tourism, (c) gender in TE, and (d) tourism economy in entrepreneurship. We also present the embeddedness of TE research with ‘opportunity-based’, ‘innovation-based’ and ‘business-formation’ perspectives of mainstream entrepreneurship research. Finally, proposing future research directions based on the gaps identified by analysing the current thematic map is a significant contribution of this study to advancing knowledge in the TE field.