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This article explores the spending literature in the field of hospitality and tourism management to achieve a better understanding of the evolution of this stream. The paper uses a bibliometric approach and is based on 124 papers published in seven leading hospitality and tourism journals from 1990 to 2011. The findings have revealed that the weight of spending literature appeared less than expected. The amount of spending research was primarily published in tourism journals, and in particular in the Journal of Tourism Research, followed by Annals of Tourism Research. In contrast, hospitality journals contributed marginally to the debate. Two fields of analysis emerge as primary research areas: determinants of tourist expenditures and measurement of economic impacts. The former stream contains a large number of research studies. The sample is primarily composed of empirical papers, while theoretical work remains at a consistently low level. Empirical evidences are primarily related to North America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]