Holistic theory development in tourism and hospitality: a perspective article

This opinion piece calls for a consolidation of theories through integrative literature reviews to set forth the path for holistic theory development in future research.

This is a perspective article.

It is difficult to substantiate the value of tourism and hospitality researchers’ contribution due to the fragmented nature of research because researchers typically conduct their studies in silos, sometimes completely detached from others who study similar or even the same concepts using different terminology.

This perspective article suggests critical and integrative literature reviews to consolidate concepts, models, theories, taxonomies and typologies for more holistic theories.