Longevity Tourism: A Systematic Literature Synthesis and Research Directions in the Thai Context
Keywords:
Longevity Tourism, Health Tourism, Ageing Society, Systematic Literature Synthesis, ThailandAbstract
Longevity Tourism is a rapidly growing research domain driven by global population ageing and heightened health consciousness. This article aims to (1) systematically synthesize the literature on longevity tourism; (2) identify research gaps in the Southeast Asian context, particularly Thailand; and (3) propose an integrative conceptual framework and future research directions. The authors employed a Systematic Literature Synthesis (SLS) protocol, searching Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and Google Scholar using pre-specified keyword strings, and screening results against PICOS criteria. A total of 25 works were included from 889 initially identified records. Synthesized findings were organized into five thematic clusters: definitional and theoretical foundations; Blue Zone tourism; health impacts on older tourists; integrative medicine and tourism; and Southeast Asian contexts. Asian scholarship predominantly situates longevity tourism within recognized longevity regions, while Western scholarship foregrounds service design and policy for ageing societies. Critical gaps identified include a near-absence of empirical work in the Thai context, a dearth of longitudinal research designs, and the lack of a domain-specific theoretical framework for Longevity Tourism. This article proposes the Integrative Longevity Tourism Framework (ILTF) as a foundation for future empirical inquiry in Thailand.
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