Introduction: Interdisciplinary Research in Tourism: An Overview

Abstract

Tourism has long been recognized as a multifaceted domain that intersects with numerous aspects of society, culture, environment, politics, and the economy. As a socio-economic activity, tourism influences and is influenced by a wide array of forces, ranging from globalization and technological innovation to demographic shifts and geopolitical tensions. Consequently, tourism is not only an object of academic inquiry within its own right but also a phenomenon that offers fertile ground for engagement across disciplinary borders. Historically, tourism research emerged from a range of parent disciplines, including geography, economics, sociology, anthropology, and business studies. While this multidisciplinarity enriched the field in its formative years, it also led to a fragmented body of knowledge lacking unified theoretical development. © 2026 selection and editorial matter, Jun Wen, Metin Kozak, Joshua Aston and Wei Wang; individual chapters, the contributors.