Author Guidelines

Editorial process

The editorial process of Enlightening Tourism. A Pathmaking Journal follows the main OJS workflow stages: Submission > Review > Editorial Decision > Production.
All manuscripts submitted to ET are first screened by the Editors-in-Chief to assess their alignment with the journal aims and scope, originality, scholarly quality, compliance with the author guidelines, ethical requirements and suitability for double-blind peer review.
Manuscripts that do not fit the journal aims and scope, do not meet minimum scholarly standards, do not follow the official templates, are not properly anonymized, or do not comply with the journal publication ethics policies may be returned to the authors or declined without external peer review.
Manuscripts that pass the initial editorial screening are normally assigned to an Associate Editor or, where necessary, to an appointed handling editor, and are then sent for double-blind peer review. ET normally seeks at least two independent reviewer reports before making a final editorial decision. Reviewers remain anonymous to the authors, and authors must ensure that the main manuscript file does not contain any information that may reveal their identity.
Associate Editors supervise the peer review process for manuscripts assigned to them, invite reviewers, assess reviewer reports and provide a recommendation to the Editors-in-Chief. The final editorial decision remains the responsibility of the Editors-in-Chief.
Final editorial decisions may include rejection, major revision, minor revision, acceptance, or other editorial outcomes where appropriate. Revised manuscripts must be accompanied by a detailed response to reviewers and editors, explaining how each comment has been addressed.
Accepted manuscripts proceed to the production stage, which may include copyediting, layout editing, proofreading and final publication. Authors are responsible for carefully checking proofs and ensuring that the final published version is accurate.

Style and presentation rules

Before submitting a manuscript, authors must consult the Templates and Author Guidelines section available in the top navigation menu.
Authors must prepare and upload two separate files:

1. Title page

This file must include the manuscript title, full names of all authors, institutional affiliations, corresponding author details, abstract, keywords and, where applicable, acknowledgements, funding information, conflict of interest statement, ethics statement and statement on the use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies.

2. Main anonymous manuscript

This file is used for double-blind peer review and must not include any information that could identify the authors. Author names, affiliations, acknowledgements, funding information, conflict of interest statements and any other identifying information must be removed from the anonymous manuscript.
Authors must use the official templates provided by the journal and ensure that both files comply with the journal formatting, anonymization and ethical requirements before completing the submission process.
The journal follows the American Psychological Association - APA, Seventh Edition style for in-text citations and references, as indicated in the official manuscript template.
Authors are also invited to consult the writing suggestions issued by the International Academy for the Study of Tourism: https://www.tourismscholars.org/documents/successful_writing_hints.pdf

General requirements

a) Manuscripts must be written in clear, accurate and consistent scholarly English. Either British or American English may be used, but the two styles should not be mixed.

b) Authors are responsible for ensuring that the manuscript meets the language standards required for international scholarly publication. The Editorial Team and the publisher are not responsible for correcting errors of spelling, grammar, punctuation or style.

c) To ensure double-blind peer review, authors must not identify themselves directly or indirectly in the main anonymous manuscript.

d) Manuscripts should be concise and clearly written. The maximum recommended length is 10,000 words, including tables, figures, illustrations, acknowledgements and references, unless otherwise justified by the nature of the contribution.

e) Manuscripts must follow the official ET templates available in the Templates and Author Guidelines section.

f) If acronyms are used, their full expression should be provided at first mention.

g) Electronic submission through the OJS online platform is compulsory. Manuscripts must be submitted in Microsoft Word format.

h) The submission of a manuscript implies that the work is original, has not been published previously, and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.

i) Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce copyrighted material, including quotations, tables, figures, illustrations and other third-party content.

j) Authors are responsible for completing and updating all required submission metadata in OJS, including title, abstract, list of contributors, affiliations, ORCID iDs where available, keywords and references. Metadata should be reviewed and updated, where necessary, at the end of the review process.

k) Manuscripts must not contain unlawful, defamatory, libellous or otherwise inappropriate content.

l) Authors must comply with the journal policies on publication ethics, conflicts of interest, funding disclosure, anti-plagiarism, inclusive language and the use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies.

Please consult the section Publication Ethics and Malpractice for further details.

Submission Preparation Checklist

To submit a manuscript, click on Submit an Article and follow the steps provided by the OJS submission system.