LAUSR

Abstract The development of poverty-stricken areas presents a critical challenge to achieving social sustainability. The emergence of pro-poor tourism provides a promising option for poverty alleviation and is attracting increasing attention. Previous studies have attempted to explore the effectiveness and patterns of pro-poor tourism. Currently, a quantitative and systematic review of pro-poor tourism (PPT) research seems to be missing. Thus, a scientometric approach is employed to build a knowledge map, with the aim of using bibliometric data to provide an objective and holistic perspective on PPT. Through the co-occurrence, cluster, and co-citation analyses of 164 related papers published from 2002 to 2018, six major themes (i.e., development, tourism management, sustainable tourism, protected areas, poverty, and slum tourism) are selected to showcase the current status of PPT research. Through the lens of a capabilities-based resource perspective, a three-dimensional PPT framework (including focus, emphasis, and motivation) is developed to structure future research.