Explaining the complexity in the tourism-migration conceptual framework

Abstract

A wide range of expressions have been used to refer to residential mobilities related to leisure, a complex phenomenon whose conceptual boundaries continue to be difficult to determine under the conventional theories of tourism or migration. This study seeks to carry out a comprehensive and unbiased literature review to develop insights on an intricate context with contentious opinions about the operability of terms and a lack of precision regarding conceptual delimitations. By analysing the use of expressions over time, the regions involved, the research methods applied, and the themes covered, the contributions are a clear overview of the terminology employed and an overall picture of the research thus far covered. As a result, a polarized academic debate with two research trends is unearthed: on the one hand, the studies mainly preoccupied about emigrants’ issues; and on the other hand, those essentially concerned with the effects triggered on destinations.