AI Policy

1. General Principles

The Journal of Tourism Sustainability (JTOS) recognizes the growing role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies in academic research, scholarly writing, and scientific publishing.

JTOS supports the responsible, ethical, and transparent use of AI technologies to enhance research efficiency, improve scholarly communication, and support academic productivity.

However, AI-assisted technologies must not replace human intellectual contributions, critical reasoning, methodological rigor, or accountability for published research.

This policy applies to all authors, reviewers, editors, and other individuals involved in the editorial and publication processes of JTOS.

2. Use of AI by Authors

Authors may use AI-assisted technologies in preparing manuscripts, provided that such use complies with principles of academic integrity, transparency, originality, and research ethics.

Permitted uses include:

Language editing, grammar correction, and readability improvement.
Translation and language refinement.
Assistance with manuscript organization and formatting.
Support for literature exploration and identification of potentially relevant sources, subject to independent verification.
Assistance with programming, data processing, statistical analysis, or visualization, provided that the methods and outputs are independently verified and appropriately documented.

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, validity, and integrity of all manuscript content, regardless of whether AI tools have been used.

AI-generated information must not be accepted as scientifically valid without verification against reliable and traceable sources.

3. AI Authorship and Accountability

AI tools, including generative AI systems and large language models, cannot be listed as authors or co-authors of manuscripts submitted to JTOS.

Authorship requires intellectual responsibility, accountability, approval of the final manuscript, and the ability to respond to questions concerning research integrity.

These responsibilities can only be fulfilled by human authors.

All listed authors must take full responsibility for the submitted manuscript, including any content developed with AI assistance.

4. Disclosure of AI Use

JTOS requires authors to disclose the use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies that materially contribute to manuscript preparation, research methods, data analysis, interpretation, or the creation of scientific content.

The disclosure must specify:

The name of the AI tool and its provider.
The purpose for which the AI tool was used.
The stage of research or manuscript preparation at which it was used.
The nature and extent of AI assistance.
The procedures undertaken by the authors to verify the accuracy and reliability of AI-assisted outputs.

AI assistance limited to routine spelling, grammar, or punctuation correction does not require a formal disclosure, provided that it does not generate or substantially modify the intellectual content of the manuscript.

Substantive AI use must be disclosed in a dedicated section entitled Declaration of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies, placed before the references.

When AI is used as part of the research methodology, including data analysis, coding, classification, or analytical visualization, the relevant procedures must also be explained in the Methods section to ensure transparency and reproducibility.

5. Prohibited Uses of AI

JTOS strictly prohibits the use of AI technologies for activities that compromise research integrity, including:

Fabricating, falsifying, or manipulating research data, observations, interview transcripts, survey responses, or research findings.
Generating fictitious references, citations, quotations, or bibliographic information.
Presenting AI-generated interpretations or claims as verified scientific evidence without appropriate validation.
Creating fabricated research participants, fieldwork documentation, or empirical observations.
Manipulating images, figures, or other research materials in a misleading manner.
Concealing substantive AI involvement in the development of a manuscript.
Using AI-generated content that infringes copyright, violates confidentiality, or constitutes plagiarism.

AI-generated citations and references must be verified against the original publications before submission.

JTOS reserves the right to reject manuscripts containing fabricated, misleading, or scientifically unverifiable material.

6. AI-Generated Images, Figures, and Visualizations

AI-assisted tools may be used to develop conceptual illustrations, graphical abstracts, diagrams, and visual representations, provided that their use is appropriately disclosed.

Authors must ensure that such materials are accurate, relevant, and do not misrepresent empirical evidence.

AI-generated or AI-modified images must not be presented as authentic photographs, field observations, research documentation, or empirical data.

Any substantive AI-assisted image generation or modification must be disclosed in the relevant figure caption or manuscript declaration.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that submitted visual materials comply with applicable copyright, licensing, and ethical requirements.

7. Use of AI by Reviewers

Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality and integrity of the peer-review process.

Submitted manuscripts, supplementary files, unpublished datasets, and confidential editorial correspondence must not be uploaded to external AI platforms unless explicitly authorized by the journal and appropriate safeguards are in place.

Reviewers may use AI-assisted tools for limited language refinement or administrative support only when manuscript confidentiality is preserved.

AI tools must not replace the reviewer's independent scholarly evaluation, methodological assessment, or professional judgment.

Reviewers remain personally responsible for the accuracy, fairness, originality, and substance of their review reports.

Any authorized substantive use of AI during peer review must be disclosed to the handling editor.

8. Use of AI by Editors

Editors may use AI-assisted technologies to support editorial administration, manuscript screening, language assessment, and publication management, subject to appropriate confidentiality and data-protection safeguards.

AI systems must not independently determine manuscript acceptance or rejection.

All editorial decisions must be made by responsible human editors based on the manuscript's scholarly quality, methodological rigor, originality, relevance, and peer-review findings.

Editors must not upload confidential manuscript content into AI systems that cannot adequately protect the confidentiality of submitted materials without appropriate authorization.

Editors are responsible for ensuring that AI-assisted editorial activities do not compromise fairness, independence, or publication ethics.

9. AI Detection and Research Integrity Assessment

JTOS may employ technological tools to assist in identifying potential irregularities in submitted manuscripts.

However, automated AI-detection results shall not constitute conclusive evidence of inappropriate AI use or research misconduct.

Editorial assessments must be based on a fair evaluation of verifiable evidence and relevant circumstances.

When concerns arise regarding undisclosed AI use, fabricated references, manipulated data, or other potential ethical violations, authors may be requested to provide clarification, supporting documentation, or additional methodological information.

Authors must be given a reasonable opportunity to respond before a final editorial decision is made.

10. Violations and Editorial Actions

Failure to comply with this policy may result in editorial action, depending on the nature, severity, and consequences of the violation.

Possible actions include:

Requests for clarification or additional disclosure.
Requests for manuscript correction or revision.
Rejection of a manuscript during editorial assessment or peer review.
Publication of a correction or other appropriate post-publication notice.
Retraction of a published article when warranted by the seriousness of the violation.

Decisions shall be made in accordance with JTOS Publication Ethics and applicable guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

11. Policy Review and Updates

JTOS recognizes that AI technologies and standards of responsible scientific publishing continue to evolve.

This policy may be periodically reviewed and updated to reflect developments in research ethics, scholarly publishing practices, and relevant international recommendations.

The fundamental principle of this policy is that artificial intelligence may support scholarly work, but human authors, reviewers, and editors remain fully accountable for research integrity and publication decisions.

Declaration of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies

Authors who have used AI-assisted technologies must include the following statement, adapted to their actual use:

"During the preparation of this manuscript, the author(s) used [AI tool and provider] for [specific purpose]. The author(s) subsequently reviewed, verified, and revised the AI-assisted outputs as appropriate and take full responsibility for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of the published content."

Authors who have not used declarable AI assistance may state:

"The authors declare that no generative AI or AI-assisted technologies were used in the preparation of this manuscript beyond routine spelling, grammar, and punctuation correction."