Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Assistant Professor, Department of Tourism Management, Faculty of Management and Accounting, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
2
Associate Professor, Department of Tourism Management, Faculty of Management and Accounting, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/jitor.2026.2085427.1046
Abstract
Heritage management is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on the systematic application of managerial, policy, and governance approaches to the conservation, utilization, and sustainable value creation of cultural and historical resources. The global expansion of this field highlights the need for a systematic analysis of research trends and for identifying both dominant and neglected themes, particularly in countries with rich cultural heritage, such as Iran. In this regard, the present study sought to conduct a bibliometric analysis of global trends in heritage management studies and to identify research gaps related to Iran, adopting a descriptive-analytical design based on a bibliometric approach. The primary data were retrieved from the Scopus database by searching for the keyword “heritage management” in document titles, from the database’s earliest indexed records to 31 December 2025. After data cleaning, 629 English-language documents were analyzed and visualized using VOSviewer software. The analyses covered the temporal trend of knowledge production, document types, subject areas, active countries, prolific authors, highly cited articles, keyword co-occurrence, co-authorship networks of authors and countries, and the co-citation of sources and journals. The results indicated that global heritage management research centered on integrated governance, local community participation, sustainable development, cultural tourism, risk management, and digital technologies. Moreover, it was found that scientific collaboration networks centered on a few European countries played a key role in shaping knowledge flows in this field. In contrast, the evidence reviewed for Iran reveals a considerable distance from several dominant global streams. In other words, Iranian heritage management research is characterized by conservation-oriented approaches, limited evidence-based policymaking, a scarcity of participatory models, and a relatively weak link between heritage management and sustainable development. These findings underscore the need to reorient heritage management research in Iran and can provide a basis for guiding future research and formulating effective managerial and policy strategies.
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