Abstract
The purpose of this article is to examine the research themes, method and outcome trends that have been published in the three leading tourism journals from 1999 to 2008. This study builds upon previous research relating to tourism publications throughout the 1980s and 1990s, but includes analysis of adopted methodology and practical versus theoretical implications. This study involved a content analysis of 1584 articles published between 1999 and 2008 in the three most prominent tourism journals. It was found that greater numbers of articles are being published and a consistency of research themes is being researched. A commonality of research methods is discernible and although practical outcomes still dominate, an increased number of theoretical outcomes are evident. This is the largest content analysis conducted of research in tourism and, contributes an analysis of the development of the top echelons of tourism research over the last decade.