Agritourism and Rural Development Pathways for Sustainable Livelihoods
Downloads
Agritourism is increasingly viewed as a pathway to support rural economic development, community livelihoods, traditional customs, and environmental protection. This study aims to map the knowledge structure of agritourism and rural development. It also provides information on the key thematic directions driving this area. A bibliometric method was applied to 730 documents from Scopus and Web of Science. The study used descriptive analysis, co-word analysis, strategic thematic mapping, and thematic evolution analysis. These techniques were applied to analyze growth in publications, the emergence of knowledge clusters, and topic evolution over time. The results identify six themes in agritourism and rural development research. These themes focus on sustainability, farm diversification, rural policy, innovation, stakeholder and community engagement, and climate adaptation. They are closely related to rural livelihoods and income generation. The literature has gone from conceptual and economic discussions to the themes of resilience, digital practices, and rural transformation. This study combines a rural development lens with bibliometric mapping. The results illuminate the intellectual landscape of the field and support issues for policy design, for research priorities, and for strategies for rural development.
Downloads
[1] Lane, B. (1994). What is rural tourism? Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 2(1–2), 7–21. doi:10.1080/09669589409510680.
[2] Fielding, T. (2024). Japan: Internal migration and population decline. Geographical Journal, 12612. doi:10.1111/geoj.12612.
[3] Keane, M. (2000). Rural tourism and rural development. In Tourism and the environment: Regional, economic, cultural and policy issues. Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht, Netherlands. doi:10.1007/978-94-015-9584-1_6.
[4] Barbieri, C., & Mshenga, P. M. (2008). The role of the firm and owner characteristics on the performance of agritourism farms. Sociologia Ruralis, 48(2), 166–183. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9523.2008.00450.x.
[5] Cawley, M., & Gillmor, D. A. (2008). Integrated rural tourism: Concepts and Practice. Annals of Tourism Research, 35(2), 316–337. doi:10.1016/j.annals.2007.07.011.
[6] Mishra, A. (2005). Entrepreneurial Motivations in Start-up and Survival of Micro- and Small Enterprises in the Rural Non-Farm Economy. Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 18(3), 289–326. doi:10.1080/08276331.2005.10593345.
[7] Žibert, M., Prevolšek, B., Pažek, K., Rozman, Č., & Škraba, A. (2021). Developing a diversification strategy of non-agricultural activities on farms using system dynamics modelling: a case study of Slovenia. Kybernetes, 51(13), 33–56. doi:10.1108/K-04-2021-0254.
[8] Zhu, Y., Chai, S., Chen, J., & Phau, I. (2024). How was rural tourism developed in China? Examining the impact of China’s evolving rural tourism policies. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 26(11), 28945–28969. doi:10.1007/s10668-023-03850-5.
[9] Scoones, I. (1998). Sustainable rural livelihoods: A framework for analysis. IDS Working Paper No. 72, Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Brighton, United Kingdom.
[10] McDermott, J. K. (1960). A Framework for Rural Development. Journal of Farm Economics, 42(3), 567. doi:10.2307/1235405.
[11] Bartkowski, B., Schüßler, C., & Müller, B. (2022). Typologies of European farmers: approaches, methods and research gaps. Regional Environmental Change, 22(2), 43. doi:10.1007/s10113-022-01899-y.
[12] Martinez-Baron, D., Gravsholt Busck, A., & Prager, S. D. (2024). Unpacking scaling in agricultural research for development: The role of social capital. Journal of Rural Studies, 108, 103296. doi:10.1016/j.jrurstud.2024.103296.
[13] Ndhlovu, E., & Dube, K. (2024). Agritourism and sustainability: A global bibliometric analysis of the state of research and dominant issues. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 46, 100746. doi:10.1016/j.jort.2024.100746.
[14] Kumar, V., Agarwala, T., & Kumar, S. (2025). Rural tourism as a driver of sustainable development: a systematic review and future research agenda. Tourism Review, 81(3), 1101–1120. doi:10.1108/TR-03-2024-0172.
[15] Sahle, M., Lahoti, S. A., Lee, S. Y., Brundiers, K., van Riper, C. J., Pohl, C., Chien, H., Bohnet, I. C., Aguilar-Rivera, N., Edwards, P., Pradhan, P., Plieninger, T., Boonstra, W. J., Flor, A. G., Di Fabio, A., Scheidel, A., Gordon, C., Abson, D. J., Andersson, E., … Takeuchi, K. (2025). Revisiting the sustainability science research agenda. Sustainability Science, 20(1), 1–19. doi:10.1007/s11625-024-01586-3.
[16] Aria, M., & Cuccurullo, C. (2017). bibliometrix: An R-tool for comprehensive science mapping analysis. Journal of Informetrics, 11(4), 959–975. doi:10.1016/j.joi.2017.08.007.
[17] van Eck, N. J., & Waltman, L. (2010). Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping. Scientometrics, 84(2), 523–538. doi:10.1007/s11192-009-0146-3.
[18] Mutanga, C. N., & Chikuta, O. (2025). Editorial: Agritourism and local development: innovations, collaborations, and sustainable growth. Frontiers in Sustainable Tourism, 4, 1576829. doi:10.3389/frsut.2025.1576829.
[19] Montefrio, M. J. F., & Sin, H. L. (2021). Between food and spectacle: The complex reconfigurations of rural production in agritourism. Geoforum, 126, 383–393. doi:10.1016/j.geoforum.2021.09.008.
[20] Wu, Z., Zheng, S., & Wang, W. (2025). Exploring the dynamic nexus of tourism, agriculture, and travel economics: the role of environmental identity and sustainability. Current Issues in Tourism, 1–24. doi:10.1080/13683500.2025.2482897.
[21] Brandth, B., & Haugen, M. S. (2011). Farm diversification into tourism - Implications for social identity? Journal of Rural Studies, 27(1), 35–44. doi:10.1016/j.jrurstud.2010.09.002.
[22] Zvavahera, P. (2025). Leveraging Disruptive Technologies to Promote Agritourism Experiences in Rural Zimbabwe. Agritourism Marketing in Africa: Exploring Digital and Social Media Strategy, 213–234. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-78682-2_8.
[23] Barbieri, C., Sotomayor, S., & Aguilar, F. X. (2019). Perceived Benefits of Agricultural Lands Offering Agritourism. Tourism Planning and Development, 16(1), 43–60. doi:10.1080/21568316.2017.1398780.
[24] Heijman, W., Hagelaar, G., & van der Heide, M. (2019). Rural Resilience as a New Development Concept. EU Bioeconomy Econ. Policies, II, 195–211. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-28642-2_11.
[25] Pehin Dato Musa, S. F., & Chin, W. L. (2022). The role of farm-to-table activities in agritourism towards sustainable development. Tourism Review, 77(2), 659–671. doi:10.1108/TR-02-2021-0101.
[26] Li, M., Cao, X., Liu, D., Fu, Q., Li, T., & Shang, R. (2022). Sustainable management of agricultural water and land resources under changing climate and socio-economic conditions: A multi-dimensional optimization approach. Agricultural Water Management, 259, 107235. doi:10.1016/j.agwat.2021.107235.
[27] Streifeneder, T., Hoffmann, C., & Corradini, P. (2023). The future of agritourism? A review of current trends of touristic commercialisation in rural areas. Annals of Regional Science, 71(1), 93–119. doi:10.1007/s00168-022-01126-w.
[28] Rakshit, S., Gorai, S. K., Sahu, S., Das, B., Gills, R., Ray, P., & Mukherjee, A. (2025). Empowerment of Rural Women and Youth Retention as Drivers of the Agricultural Economy. Indian Agriculture: Challenges, Priorities and Solutions, 149–181. Springer. doi:10.1007/978-981-96-5273-0_8.
[29] Nguyen Hoang Thanh, N., & Lee, L. (2025). The role of public–private partnerships in the development of agritourism: the case of Vinh Long, Vietnam. Cogent Social Sciences, 11(1), 2505123. doi:10.1080/23311886.2025.2505123.
[30] Chin, W. L., & Pehin Dato Musa, S. F. (2021). Agritourism resilience against Covid-19: Impacts and management strategies. Cogent Social Sciences, 7(1), 1950290. doi:10.1080/23311886.2021.1950290.
[31] Linnenluecke, M. K., Marrone, M., & Singh, A. K. (2020). Conducting systematic literature reviews and bibliometric analyses. Australian Journal of Management, 45(2), 175–194. doi:10.1177/0312896219877678.
[32] Voorbij, H. J. (1998). Title keywords and subject descriptors: a comparison of subject search entries of books in the humanities and social sciences. Journal of documentation, 54(4), 466-476. doi:10.1108/EUM0000000007178.
[33] Markscheffel, B., & Schröter, F. (2021). Comparison of two science mapping tools based on software technical evaluation and bibliometric case studies. COLLNET Journal of Scientometrics and Information Management, 15(2), 365–396. doi:10.1080/09737766.2021.1960220.
[34] Moradi, E. (2024). Mapping of Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights themes: a retrospective overview. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, 7(2), 1211–1237. doi:10.1108/JHTI-12-2022-0638.
[35] Van Eck, N. J., Waltman, L., Dekker, R., & Van Den Berg, J. (2010). A comparison of two techniques for bibliometric mapping: Multidimensional scaling and VOS. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 61(12), 2405–2416. doi:10.1002/asi.21421.
[36] Callon, M., Courtial, J. P., & Laville, F. (1991). Co-word analysis as a tool for describing the network of interactions between basic and technological research: The case of polymer chemsitry. Scientometrics, 22(1), 155–205. doi:10.1007/BF02019280.
[37] Mühl, D. D., & de Oliveira, L. (2022). A bibliometric and thematic approach to agriculture 4.0. Heliyon, 8(5), e09369. doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09369.
[38] Jeon, D., Lee, J., Ahn, J. M., & Lee, C. (2023). Measuring the novelty of scientific publications: A fastText and local outlier factor approach. Journal of Informetrics, 17(4), 101450. doi:10.1016/j.joi.2023.101450.
[39] McGehee, N. G., & Kim, K. (2004). Motivation for agri-tourism entrepreneurship. Journal of Travel Research, 43(2), 161–170. doi:10.1177/0047287504268245.
[40] Busby, G., & Rendle, S. (2000). The transition from tourism on farms to farm tourism. Tourism Management, 21(6), 635–642. doi:10.1016/S0261-5177(00)00011-X.
[41] Barbieri, C. (2013). Assessing the sustainability of agritourism in the US: A comparison between agritourism and other farm entrepreneurial ventures. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 21(2), 252–270. doi:10.1080/09669582.2012.685174.
[42] Grilli, G., Pagliacci, F., & Gatto, P. (2024). Determinants of agricultural diversification: What really matters? A review. Journal of Rural Studies, 110, 103365. doi:10.1016/j.jrurstud.2024.103365.
[43] Sgroi, F., Donia, E., & Mineo, A. M. (2018). Agritourism and local development: A methodology for assessing the role of public contributions in the creation of competitive advantage. Land Use Policy, 77, 676–682. doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.06.021.
[44] Tian, M., Min, Q. W., Jiao, W. J., Yuan, Z., Fuller, A. M., Yang, L., ... & Cheng, B. (2016). Agricultural Heritage Systems Tourism: definition, characteristics and development framework. Journal of Mountain Science, 13(3), 440-454. doi:10.1007/s11629-015-3724-2.
[45] D’Adamo, I., & Rossi, E. N. (2025). Impact of regional investment on the sustainable development goals: A group analysis of economic and territorial development. Sustainable Development, 33(2), 1816–1834. doi:10.1002/sd.3215.
[46] Cavalleri, S. A. E., Tanwattana, P., & Grünbühel, C. M. (2022). Systemizing a rural livelihood diversification framework for sustainable community-based agritourism: A participatory approach to ensure resilience. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 6. doi:10.3389/fsufs.2022.993892.
[47] Tapera, J., Mashapure, R., Mutanda, B., Mthombeni, A., & Hamunakwadi, P. (2025). Adoption of Agritourism Digital Marketing Technologies as a Strategy for Enhancing Sustainable Development in African Economies. Agritourism Marketing in Africa: Exploring Digital and Social Media Strategy, 103–134. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-78682-2_4.
[48] Ramaano, A. I. (2024). Environmental change impacts and inclusive rural tourism development on the livelihoods of native societies: evidence from Musina Municipality, South Africa. International Journal of Ethics and Systems, 40(3), 495–525. doi:10.1108/IJOES-04-2023-0089.
[49] Afshari, E., Ebrahimi, M., & Zare, H. (2024). Sustainable development spillover effects of China and the US on Iran: analysis of integrated sustainability perspective. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 26(6), 15163–15175. doi:10.1007/s10668-023-03243-8.
[50] Addinsall, C., Weiler, B., Scherrer, P., & Glencross, K. (2017). Agroecological tourism: bridging conservation, food security and tourism goals to enhance smallholders’ livelihoods on South Pentecost, Vanuatu. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 25(8), 1100–1116. doi:10.1080/09669582.2016.1254221.
[51] Lordkipanidze, M., Brezet, H., & Backman, M. (2005). The entrepreneurship factor in sustainable tourism development. Journal of Cleaner Production, 13(8), 787–798. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2004.02.043.
[52] Jeon, S. (2013). Agricultural Transformation and the Escape from the Middle-Income-Country Trap: Challenges Facing Small Farmers in Indonesia in a Time of Green Restructuring. Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, 49(3), 383–384. doi:10.1080/00074918.2013.850636.
[53] Li, X., Xu, J., Lu, J., & Li, X. (2025). Green innovation transition of intensive cropland: a spatial and temporal characterization in the Yangtze River Delta region, China. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 9, 1551146. doi:10.3389/fsufs.2025.1551146.
[54] Wu, M., Zhang, Q. F., & Donaldson, J. (2024). Post-productivism and rural revitalization in China: Drivers and outcomes. Journal of Rural Studies, 110, 103382. doi:10.1016/j.jrurstud.2024.103382.
[55] Oppermann, M. (1996). Rural tourism in Southern Germany. Annals of Tourism Research, 23(1), 86–102. doi:10.1016/0160-7383(95)00021-6.
[56] Cánoves, G., Villarino, M., Priestley, G. K., & Blanco, A. (2004). Rural tourism in Spain: An analysis of recent evolution. Geoforum, 35(6), 755–769. doi:10.1016/j.geoforum.2004.03.005.
[57] Sharpley, R., & Vass, A. (2006). Tourism, farming and diversification: An attitudinal study. Tourism Management, 27(5), 1040–1052. doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2005.10.025.
[58] Savage, A. E., Barbieri, C., & Jakes, S. (2022). Cultivating success: personal, family and societal attributes affecting women in agritourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 30(7), 1699–1719. doi:10.1080/09669582.2020.1838528.
[59] Abadi, A., & Khakzand, M. (2022). Extracting the qualitative dimensions of agritourism for the sustainable development of Charqoli village in Iran: the promotion of vernacular entrepreneurship and environment-oriented preservation perspectives. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 24(11), 12609–12671. doi:10.1007/s10668-021-01958-0.
[60] Sridhar, A., Balakrishnan, A., Jacob, M. M., Sillanpää, M., & Dayanandan, N. (2023). Global impact of COVID-19 on agriculture: role of sustainable agriculture and digital farming. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(15), 42509–42525. doi:10.1007/s11356-022-19358-w.
[61] Wang, J., Zhou, F., Xie, A., & Shi, J. (2024). Impacts of the integral development of agriculture and tourism on agricultural eco-efficiency: a case study of two river basins in China. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 26(1), 1701–1730. doi:10.1007/s10668-022-02781-x.
[62] Mastronardi, L., Cavallo, A., & Romagnoli, L. (2022). How did Italian diversified farms tackle Covid-19 pandemic first wave challenges? Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 82, 101096. doi:10.1016/j.seps.2021.101096.
[63] Garwi, J. (2024). Exploring the Ethical Dimensions of Sustainable Agritourism in Central Angola. Agritourism in Africa, 96–118. doi:10.4324/9781032696188-6.
[64] Ramaano, A. I. (2025). The rural areas conservancy sites and ecotourism-climate change quandaries: an integrated rural initiative impact on environmental sustainability and livelihoods. Tourism Critiques: Practice and Theory, 6(1), 81–111. doi:10.1108/trc-01-2024-0002.
[65] Tonsakunthaweeteam, S., Pongsakornrungsilp, S., Pongsakornrungsilp, P., Ketkaew, K., Rattanapan, P., & Grusevaja, M. (2025). Climate and Visa Exemption Policies on International Tourism Revenue: A Cross-Country Panel Study. Journal of Human, Earth, and Future, 6(4), 900–915. doi:10.28991/hef-2025-06-04-010.
[66] Anim, P. A., Mahmoud, M. A., & Odoom, R. (2025). Technology meets agriculture: will green knowledge management and green intellectual capital be the game changer for sustainable farming among rural women. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 74(10), 3551–3576. doi:10.1108/IJPPM-01-2025-0038.
[67] Abdelfattah, F., Al-Alawi, A., Abdullahi, M. S., & Salah, M. (2026). Embracing the industrial revolution: the impact of technological advancements and government policies on tourism development in Oman. Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events, 18(1), 22–46. doi:10.1080/19407963.2023.2294789.
[68] Gössling, S., & Scott, D. (2025). Tourist demand and destination development under climate change: complexities and perspectives. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 1–32. doi:10.1080/09669582.2025.2543953.
[69] Wang, X., Huang, Y., & Huang, K. (2025). How does social entrepreneurship achieve sustainable development goals in rural tourism destinations? The role of legitimacy and social capital. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 33(7), 1262–1280. doi:10.1080/09669582.2024.2309546.
[70] Luekveerawattana, R. (2025). Optimizing green routes for agro-tourism: insights from Samut Songkhram Province, Thailand. Cogent Social Sciences, 11(1), 2460709. doi:10.1080/23311886.2025.2460709.
[71] Su, X., Qiu, X., Fang, Y., He, X., Jing, Z., & Yang, X. (2025). Evaluation of rural restructuring on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau of China from the perspective of Production-Living-Ecological functions. Sustainable Futures, 9, 100726. doi:10.1016/j.sftr.2025.100726.
[72] Pierri, F. M., Anseeuw, W., & Campolina, A. (2025). Land tenure for resilient and inclusive rural transformation. Global Food Security, 44, 100827. doi:10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100835.
[73] Liu, Y., Li, X., Su, S., & Guo, Y. (2025). Ecological industrialization and rural revitalization for global sustainable development. Geography and Sustainability, 6(4), 100307. doi:10.1016/j.geosus.2025.100307.
[74] Li, Y. (2023). A systematic review of rural resilience. China Agricultural Economic Review, 15(1), 66–77. doi:10.1108/CAER-03-2022-0048.
[75] Yang, Q., Tian, X., Wang, H., & Tan, T. (2025). Exploration of the coupling coordination between rural tourism development and agricultural eco-efficiency in islands: A case study of Hainan Island in China. Journal for Nature Conservation, 84, 126822. doi:10.1016/j.jnc.2024.126822.
- The authors retain all copyrights. It is noticeable that authors will not be forced to sign any copyright transfer agreements.
- This work (including HTML and PDF Files) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.















