This study systematically reviews coastal tourism research within the tourism and hospitality field to synthesise current knowledge, research themes, sub-themes, and topics and propose a future research agenda based on thematic analysis and key findings. Building on prior discussions and through an in-depth literature review, this paper provides a comprehensive overview of the field. A systematic search was carried out in the Web of Science database, following the PRISMA guidelines. Out of 676 records found, 224 studies were found eligible for thematic analysis. The analysis revealed six main themes: tourist motivations, experiences and behaviours; responsible and sustainable tourism development; coastal destination marketing, image and attractiveness; coastal tourism destination management; coastal tourism planning and development; and tourism impact. Each theme is further examined through sub-themes, research topics, and key findings. The thematic analysis provides a valuable contribution to the field by synthesising existing knowledge and, based on identified gaps, presenting a research agenda to guide future research related to coastal tourism.
Seyitoğlu et al. (2025) studied this question.