A Bibliometric Study of the Importance of Tourism in Salt Landscapes for the Sustainable Development of Rural Areas

Puiu Nistoreanu, Alina-Cerasela Aluculesei () and George-Cornel Dumitrescu
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Puiu Nistoreanu: Faculty of Business and Tourism, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010404 Bucharest, Romania
Alina-Cerasela Aluculesei: Institute for World Economy, Romanian Academy, 050711 Bucharest, Romania
George-Cornel Dumitrescu: Institute for World Economy, Romanian Academy, 050711 Bucharest, Romania

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 10, 1-16

Abstract: Since ancient times, people have used salt for cooking and preserving food, its healing benefits, and as a means of payment. Therefore, the first settlements were located near water, food, and preferably salt, as prerequisites to further social and economic development. Naturally, the social development, the healing properties of salt, and the beauty of some salt landscapes have led to the development of tourism as an essential asset for rural communities. This paper aims to investigate the research focusing on the use of salt resources in tourism and to see if the exploitation of salt landscapes is an actual research topic linked to rural development. The study’s primary objectives are to investigate the scientific output in the tourism field, the main drivers in scientific production, and any connection between the importance of salt landscapes in tourism and sustainable rural development. The article represents a bibliometric analysis of 437 scientific articles published in prestigious journals indexed in the Web of Science until November 2023. The results emphasised a need for more research on using salt landscapes and resources in tourism as a central topic, as most identified studies focus on proposing models for the sustainable development of former salt mines and ecosystem restoration using tourism activity. Since many salt mining operations have been closed and the inhabitants of the neighbouring rural localities have been left without the related income, the results of this research are helpful for specialists in the field and for decision-makers to have a clear view of the development trends of areas rich in salt resources for tourism purposes.

Keywords: salt landscapes; salt land management; sustainable salt exploitation; sustainable rural development; co-word analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:13:y:2024:i:10:p:1703-:d:1501403

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