Authorship Criteria

Journal of Tourism Sustainability (JTOS) is committed to transparent, responsible, and ethical authorship practices. Authorship must reflect genuine intellectual contributions to the research and manuscript. This policy draws on the authorship principles of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and relevant guidance on publication ethics from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

1. Criteria for Authorship

To qualify as an author, an individual must meet all four of the following criteria:

  1. Make a substantial contribution to the conception or design of the study; or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of research data.
  2. Draft the manuscript or critically revise it for important intellectual content.
  3. Approve the final version of the manuscript to be published.
  4. Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work, including ensuring that questions concerning its accuracy or integrity are appropriately investigated and resolved.

All individuals who meet these criteria should be listed as authors. Individuals who do not meet all four criteria should be acknowledged, with their permission, rather than listed as authors.

2. Contributions That Do Not Qualify for Authorship Alone

The following activities, when performed without the intellectual contributions and responsibilities described above, are not sufficient by themselves to justify authorship:

  • Obtaining funding or providing general institutional support.
  • Administrative supervision or general oversight of a research group.
  • Providing access to research sites, participants, facilities, or equipment.
  • Routine data collection, technical assistance, proofreading, or language editing.

These contributions may be recognized in the Acknowledgments section where appropriate.

3. Author Contributions

JTOS encourages authors to provide a clear author contribution statement using the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT), where applicable. Contributions may include conceptualization, methodology, software, validation, formal analysis, investigation, resources, data curation, writing – original draft, writing – review and editing, visualization, supervision, project administration, and funding acquisition.

A contribution statement does not replace the journal's authorship criteria: all listed authors must still satisfy the four criteria above.

4. Author Order and Corresponding Author

The order of authors must be agreed upon by all authors before submission and should reflect their mutually agreed contributions and disciplinary conventions. JTOS does not determine author order on behalf of research teams.

The corresponding author is responsible for communications with the journal, ensuring that all co-authors have reviewed and approved the submitted manuscript, coordinating responses to editorial queries, and keeping co-authors informed throughout submission, review, and publication.

5. Changes in Authorship

Requests to add, remove, or rearrange authors after submission must include an explanation and written agreement from all listed authors and any individual being added or removed. Such changes require editorial approval. After publication, any authorship correction will be considered in accordance with the journal's publication ethics and appropriate correction procedures.

6. Unacceptable Authorship Practices

JTOS does not permit guest or honorary authorship (listing individuals who do not qualify), ghost authorship (omitting qualifying contributors), or the sale, purchase, or misrepresentation of authorship. All authors must disclose relevant conflicts of interest and ensure the submitted work is original and ethically conducted.

7. Artificial Intelligence and Authorship

Artificial intelligence tools, including generative AI and large language models, cannot be listed as authors or co-authors because they cannot approve the manuscript or assume responsibility for its integrity. Human authors remain accountable for all AI-assisted content and must disclose substantive AI use in accordance with the JTOS Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy.

8. Authorship Disputes

Authorship disputes should first be addressed by the researchers and, where necessary, their affiliated institutions. JTOS editors may request documentation or institutional clarification but do not independently adjudicate competing claims to authorship. Editorial action will follow applicable publication ethics procedures.

9. Author Confirmation

By submitting a manuscript to JTOS, the corresponding author confirms that all listed authors meet the authorship criteria, have approved the submitted version, agree to its submission, and accept their responsibilities for the integrity of the work.

References and Supporting Guidelines