Luxury tourism – a review of the literature

Abstract

This study aims to provide a holistic and comprehensive picture of the current state of luxury tourism research. In order to do so, 119 articles published between 2004-2019 were analysed by content analysis and a systematic literature review. Based on the analysis of the systematic literature review, the study synthesised the theoretical research streams on luxury tourism research. The studies approached the context via ten different key features. The findings suggest that current luxury tourism research concentrates on quantitative studies, conducted mainly in contexts that present traditional luxury tourism products. The synthesis of the theoretical streams identifies that research is based on marketing literature, and this is discussed with four different approaches (1) consumer consumption, (2) brand management, (3) service marketing, and (4) consumer behaviour-oriented perspective. Luxury tourism is a multidimensional and broad concept that requires attention in academic research. The study also gives suggestions for future research opportunities.