Exploring sensory marketing: a bibliometric analysis approach and future directions

Recently, scholars have highlighted the function of sensory experiences as a relevant element of value creation in tourism, often referred to as “sensory marketing” or “marketing of the senses.” The present article examines research on sensory marketing in tourism published between 1996 and 2025. The study analyzes theoretical contributions that investigate how sensory dimensions improve tourist experiences and help destination development. To reach this, a bibliometric analysis was conducted using VOSviewer software. These instruments enabled the identification of the most prolific institutions or authors and provided analyses of co-citation and co-word networks. Generally, this study demonstrates that sensory marketing can be a powerful instrument for improving the tourist experience and destination competitiveness.