Data Envelopment Analysis Applications in Tourism Management Research

Tourism operations and businesses depend on various indicators defining their competitiveness and eco-efficiency. The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is one of the tools widely recognized for evaluating the performance and benchmarking of the tourism industry domain sectors and services. Over time, the DEA methodology application has witnessed different interactions and inter-connectedness across the tourism sector. Through a systematic literature review and historiography using the HistCite™ tool, the study highlighted the trends and associations across the tourism management research. This will help contribute to the knowledge domain in this area, helping to understand the trends and define the path for DEA model application in tourism research. The results depict the scope of the DEA model's application in environmental and sustainability performance evaluations in tourism management. Study results will be of great significance for researchers formulating methodologies and strategies for sustainable tourism considering the current global environmental challenges.