This study presents a bibliometric analysis of maritime tourism transportation management and development, emphasizing Malaysia’s contribution to global scholarship. Data were extracted from the Scopus database using title-based searches covering maritime tourism, island tourism, and transportation studies. A sample of 176 publications (1983 2022) was reviewed with Harzing Publish or Perish, VOSviewer, and Microsoft Excel and screened and validated through PRISMA. Findings reveal that there has been a consistent increase in the volume of publications since 2010 with Malaysia ranked as the top countries in the world (20.95%), aided by existing institutions like Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT). It is a moderately influential field with a moderate number of citations (1,785 citations, h-index = 23) and the concentration of themes in sustainability, tourism management, and ecotourism. New issues are emerging such as climate change, marine life, and green mobility, which have switched to sustainability and post-pandemic resilience. The results of the study indicate that Malaysia is emerging as an academic leader in maritime tourism, but also that the gap in research on the topic of transportation safety, digital transformation, and low-carbon mobility exists. This work has the advantage of providing the first detailed bibliometric mapping of the subject area that will help to inform policy, enhance regionalism, and align the maritime tourism strategies of Malaysia with the Blue Economy and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 8, 13, 14).
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