Mapping the Intellectual Landscape of Leisure and Social Cohesion: A Bibliometric Analysis of Conceptual Evolution, Thematic Trends, Influential Scholarship, and Emerging Research Frontiers in Global Discourse (2000–2025)

Abstract

Leisure extends beyond recreation and represents a social space shaped by cultural values, economic conditions, spatial arrangements, and institutional structures. Social cohesion reflects the level of trust, connectedness, and shared belonging within communities, and leisure settings often function as social arenas where cohesion can either be strengthened or weakened depending on accessibility, inclusivity, policy support, and cultural relevance. This study presents a bibliometric review of literature on leisure and social cohesion to examine its conceptual development, intellectual structure, and emerging research trends. A total of 20,070 records were retrieved from the WOS for the period 2000–2025, of which 3,933 documents met the inclusion criteria. Using CiteSpace version 6.4.R1, co-citation, co-authorship, institutional, country, and keyword co-occurrence analyses were conducted to map collaboration networks, leading institutions, influential authors, and dominant thematic clusters. The results show a steady increase in publications after 2000, confirming the growing interdisciplinary nature of research linking leisure, tourism, community development, and social capital. Major clusters include COVID-19 pandemic, tourism destinations, social capital, government trust, sharing economy, and community participation. Influential works by Forrest and Kearns (2001), Putnam (2000), Gössling et al. (2020), Friedkin (2004), and Nunkoo (2011) form the intellectual foundation of the field. The United States, England, and China are the most productive countries, while leading institutions include the State University System of Florida, University of Johannesburg, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, University of London, and University of Waterloo. Leisure emerges as a conditional mechanism for social cohesion shaped by structural inequalities and institutional support.