Booking intention research progress: Emerging trends and research agenda

Abstract

Purpose: Booking intention in the hotel context has motivated the interest of researchers in recent decades. However, research in this field is fragmented and its understanding presents gaps. The aim of this paper is to identify current trends in booking intention research and to recommend future research directions. Methods: To this end, a bibliometric study and content analysis were conducted on a total of 274 papers published between 2000 and 2022 in the Web of Science database. In particular, VOSviewer, SciMAT and the R software package were used to determine, quantify and visualise research clusters, as well as emerging topics in this field of study. Results: The results revealed the existence of three lines of research that have evolved during the total period studied: (1) the impact of technologies on booking intention, (2) the influence of internal consumer factors on booking intention and (3) the hotel attributes that are most sensitive to booking intention. Finally, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on tourist booking intention is reflected cross-sectionally in the studies, where variables such as consumer trust and perceived risk have become more important. Implications: Consequently, this paper contributes to the current body of literature on booking intention, providing a structured overview of research in this field and suggesting future avenues for research.