Copyright and License

Policy for current and future publications, subject to the license shown on each article landing page.

Journal of Tourism Sustainability (JTOS)

1. Copyright Ownership

Authors who publish in the Journal of Tourism Sustainability (JTOS) retain the copyright to their scholarly works. Authors grant JTOS the non-exclusive right of first publication and permission to disseminate the published version of record through the journal's official website and relevant scholarly indexing and preservation services.

Authors remain responsible for ensuring that their manuscripts and all accompanying materials do not infringe the rights of third parties.

2. Open Access and Creative Commons License

JTOS provides immediate open access to its published articles. For articles that explicitly display this license on their landing pages, the applicable license is the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license, as identified on the individual article page. JTOS intends to apply this license consistently to newly published articles, subject to confirmation of the journal's official license settings and editorial approval.

Under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, users may share and adapt licensed material, provided that they:

  • Give appropriate attribution to the author(s), article title, journal, DOI or persistent URL, and the license, and indicate whether changes were made.
  • Use the material for non-commercial purposes only, unless separate permission is obtained from the rights holder.
  • Distribute adaptations under the same license (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
  • Do not impose additional legal or technological restrictions that prevent others from exercising rights permitted by the license.

Full license terms: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International.

3. License of Previously Published Articles

Some previously published JTOS articles carry a different Creative Commons license, including Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). Such articles remain subject to the license stated on their respective article pages and published files. This policy does not retroactively replace or restrict licenses already granted to readers and other users.

For example, earlier JTOS articles from 2022 have displayed CC BY 4.0, whereas examined articles from 2026 display CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. When determining reuse rights for an individual article, readers should consult the license notice displayed on that article's official landing page and publication file. If those notices differ, readers may contact the editorial office for clarification.

4. Author Rights and Self-Archiving

Authors may deposit and share their submitted manuscripts, accepted manuscripts, and published articles through personal websites, institutional repositories, and other lawful scholarly platforms, subject to the rights of any third-party content included in the work.

When sharing the published version, authors are encouraged to provide complete bibliographic attribution and a link to the article's official JTOS publication page or DOI.

Authors may enter into separate, non-exclusive arrangements for dissemination of their published work, provided that its initial publication in JTOS is properly acknowledged and the arrangements do not conflict with existing licenses or third-party rights.

5. Third-Party Materials and Permissions

Authors must identify and obtain any necessary permissions for copyrighted images, maps, tables, figures, questionnaires, photographs, or other third-party materials that are not covered by an applicable exception or compatible license.

Where third-party material is excluded from the article's Creative Commons license, the article must clearly identify the material and the applicable rights or permission conditions. The Creative Commons license for an article does not automatically authorize reuse of separately credited third-party material.

6. Attribution and Responsible Reuse

Users must properly acknowledge the original author(s) and JTOS when reproducing, distributing, translating, or adapting published content. Where a license requires non-commercial use or share-alike distribution, those conditions must be respected.

Reuse must not misrepresent the findings, imply endorsement by the authors or JTOS, or compromise academic integrity.

7. Publication Agreement and Editorial Integrity

By submitting a manuscript for publication, authors confirm that they have the necessary rights to submit the work and, upon acceptance, agree to the applicable copyright and licensing terms clearly communicated by JTOS. The journal may request additional documentation where ownership or permissions are unclear.

Questions or disputes relating to copyright and reuse will be considered in accordance with applicable law, the article's stated license, and JTOS publication ethics policies.

8. Licensing Information and Policy Updates

JTOS aims to display the relevant copyright holder and license information consistently on each article landing page and, where feasible, within the published article file and metadata.

Any future changes to the journal's licensing policy will be communicated transparently. Changes will not be applied retroactively in a manner that removes rights already granted under an earlier license.

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