SPECIAL ISSUES in Tourism Geographies
Special Issues are collections of new papers on a single topic or theme. These may fill an entire issue of the journal (8 to 10 papers), or may only comprise a portion of the journal (minimum of 4 papers). Guidelines for special issues are below. Also see our list of Special Issues, both forthcoming and published.
Conference Sponsorship - If you would like to invite Tourism Geographies to be a sponsor or supporter of you conference or other academic event, please see our guidelines below.
Conference Sponsorship - If you would like to invite Tourism Geographies to be a sponsor or supporter of you conference or other academic event, please see our guidelines below.
Guidelines for Guest Editors of Regular Special Issues
A Special Issue in Tourism Geographies is a coherent collection of papers on a specific topic that is appropriate to the aims and scope of the journal and has a broad international appeal. While the editors of Tourism Geographies may initiate a special issue, it is more common to have a Special Issue that draws on the skills and talents of guest editors who are willing to devote a high level of focus and enthusiasm to achieve a successful outcome. The journal, therefore, welcomes innovative proposals of high quality and relevance from prospective individuals or teams.
A Special Issue should be similar to a well-edited book, with attention being given to the range and mix of article types, as well as to the inclusion of a state-of-the-art review article that is developed or led by an accomplished scholar. Special Issues that are based on more narrowly defined workshops or regional meetings should consider inviting additional authors to offer a broader and more comprehensive scope to their topic. Most special issues will have a Call-for-Papers (CFP) that will also be published on the TG website, to which potential authors can be referred.
Please note that Tourism Geographies prefers to limit the use of Call-for-Papers (CFP) that are sent to general email listservs, such as Trinet, RTSNet, TourismAnthropology, and TourismGeography (IGU). Guest editors are allowed to post a maximum of two CfPs to each of these lists. Instead, guest editors are encouraged to identify authors who are specifically active in the special issue topic and to contact them directly. Recent experience has shown that this limitation has not seriously restricted the number of proposed papers for topics that are exciting and compelling for authors.
A Special issue does not need to fill an entire issue of the journal. A minimum of four accepted papers is required to set aside a "special topic" area within the journal. If the Special Issue is able to fill an entire issue of the journal (about 9 to 12 papers), then the publisher will often consider republishing the Special Issue as a book after the journal version is released.
The primary responsibilities of the guest editor(s) includes:
(1) The guest editor(s) initially contacts the Editor-in-Chief (Alan Lew) for Tourism Geographies (TG) to inquire about potential interest in the topic of the proposed special issue. This should address the goals of the Special Issue, who the market will be for the special issue, and information on the qualifications of the guest editor(s).
Special issues require considerable editorial commitment on the part of the guest editors. This mostly involves contacting authors and reviewing multiple versions of their papers. It is suggested that there be at least two guest editors to help share this burden. Three guest editors would be even better.
(2) If the topic is deemed suitable for the journal, then the guest editor(s) send their CfP to potential authors and email lists to solicit potential abstracts. The guest editors should review the abstracts they receive to ensure that they are appropriate to the topic and have the potential to survive the review process. Proposals that do not match the theme or have other issues that make them questionable should be rejected as not suitable for the special issue. Once the initial set of papers is determined, a list of authors and draft titles is sent to the TG Editor-in-Chief. (Abstracts are not required.)
(3) The guest editors works with the authors to pre-review the papers before they are formally submitted to TG.
(4) When formally submitting their papers to the journal (using ScholarOne), authors must check the "Special Issue" box and indicate the special issue topic. The special issue topic and guest editor(s) should also be mentioned in a cover letter to ensure that the paper is not treated as a regular submission. If these are not included, then the paper will likely be reviewed without consideration for the special issue. All papers will go through a mostly traditional double blind review process and only papers that are successful in that process will be published. Reviewers will be informed that the paper is being considered for a special issue.
TG accepts about 20% of submitted papers, so you can expect that some papers may be rejected. That being said, most Special Issues have much higher acceptance rates, although there have also been some rare instances in which most the Special issue papers submitted were rejected. The TG Editor-in-Chief will oversee the entire review process and will make the final decision on paper acceptance, based on the anonymous reviews, and in consultation with the guest editors where warranted.
(5) It is expected that all papers will have completed the review, revision and acceptance/rejection process within 18 months from the time that the special issue list of authors and titles was submitted to the TG Editor-In-Chief. The guest editor(s) should, therefore, establish some clear deadlines for contributing authors. Papers submitted to the special issue will be published online as they are accepted and copy edited. However, they will not appear in print until the last paper is accepted and processed, which can take a considerable length of time, depending on the individual author. Guest editors need to be aware that they are committing themselves to a fairly long process to see the special issue through to its completion.
(6) The guest editor(s) will provide the TG Editor-in-Chief with three (3) names of potential reviewers for each paper. Usually at least a third of the potential reviewers will decline an invitation to review the paper. Additional names are welcome, though the TG Editor-in-Chief will also draw on other databases of referees to ask. Do not ask authors to recommend their own reviewers. Do not recommend authors who are contributing to your Special Issue to review other contributions. Also, do not recommend members of the TG Editorial Board. The TG Editor-in-Chief will invite the reviewers to review the papers, the guest editor(s) does not need to do this. The guest editor(s) will be included as one of the anonymous reviewers for each of their papers.
(7) The guest editor(s) is required to write an introduction to the special issue. This introduction is treated as a commentary and is usually not sent for review (though exceptions can be made depending on the nature of the introduction). Sometimes the TG Editor will also contribute to the introduction as one of its authors, depending on the circumstances of the particular topic.
(8) If there are other papers that have been recently accepted for publication in TG that are closely related to the special issue topic, they may be include in the same issue. The TG Editor will discuss this with the guest editor(s) if this situation arises. Sometimes these are also brought up in the guest editor's Introduction, but not always. If we can fill most of an issue with papers that follow the same topic, then Routledge/T&F is likely to offer to re-publish the special issue for distribution as a book, which is a nice bonus.
(9) Based on recent experience, most guest editors give authors from 3 to 5 months to submit their full papers after the guest editors have done the initial review and selection based on the abstracts they have received. Papers submitted to TG are published online soon after they are accepted. On average, however, special issues have been appearing in final print form about 2 years after the initial CFP has been issued. Please consider also publishing your special issue as a book (see below).
See also this blog post on The Role of Guest Editors for Tourism Geographies.
Please contact Alan A. Lew, TG Editor-in-Chief, if you have any questions about this process.
A Special Issue should be similar to a well-edited book, with attention being given to the range and mix of article types, as well as to the inclusion of a state-of-the-art review article that is developed or led by an accomplished scholar. Special Issues that are based on more narrowly defined workshops or regional meetings should consider inviting additional authors to offer a broader and more comprehensive scope to their topic. Most special issues will have a Call-for-Papers (CFP) that will also be published on the TG website, to which potential authors can be referred.
Please note that Tourism Geographies prefers to limit the use of Call-for-Papers (CFP) that are sent to general email listservs, such as Trinet, RTSNet, TourismAnthropology, and TourismGeography (IGU). Guest editors are allowed to post a maximum of two CfPs to each of these lists. Instead, guest editors are encouraged to identify authors who are specifically active in the special issue topic and to contact them directly. Recent experience has shown that this limitation has not seriously restricted the number of proposed papers for topics that are exciting and compelling for authors.
A Special issue does not need to fill an entire issue of the journal. A minimum of four accepted papers is required to set aside a "special topic" area within the journal. If the Special Issue is able to fill an entire issue of the journal (about 9 to 12 papers), then the publisher will often consider republishing the Special Issue as a book after the journal version is released.
The primary responsibilities of the guest editor(s) includes:
- Identifying authors interested in writing acceptable papers and securing their participation (see 1 and 2 below),
- Ensuring the acceptability among proposed contributions (2),
- Working with the authors to ensure that the initial submissions meet appropriate conceptual and methodological standards, and are submitted on time and in proper format (3, 4 and 5),
- Suggesting reviewers for submitted paper to the TG Editor-in-Chief (6), and
- Writing an introduction for the Special Issue (7 and 8).
(1) The guest editor(s) initially contacts the Editor-in-Chief (Alan Lew) for Tourism Geographies (TG) to inquire about potential interest in the topic of the proposed special issue. This should address the goals of the Special Issue, who the market will be for the special issue, and information on the qualifications of the guest editor(s).
Special issues require considerable editorial commitment on the part of the guest editors. This mostly involves contacting authors and reviewing multiple versions of their papers. It is suggested that there be at least two guest editors to help share this burden. Three guest editors would be even better.
(2) If the topic is deemed suitable for the journal, then the guest editor(s) send their CfP to potential authors and email lists to solicit potential abstracts. The guest editors should review the abstracts they receive to ensure that they are appropriate to the topic and have the potential to survive the review process. Proposals that do not match the theme or have other issues that make them questionable should be rejected as not suitable for the special issue. Once the initial set of papers is determined, a list of authors and draft titles is sent to the TG Editor-in-Chief. (Abstracts are not required.)
(3) The guest editors works with the authors to pre-review the papers before they are formally submitted to TG.
- The guest editors want to make sure that the papers are strong enough to potentially survive the review process after they submitted to the journal. Some papers will be ready from the first draft; others may take a couple of drafts to be acceptable. Some may never reach an acceptable standard, and should be rejected or otherwise removed from the special issue by the guest editors. Do not allow papers to move forward that will clearly not meet the standards of Tourism Geographies, in the opinions of the guest editors.
- The guest editors should also be aware that the more papers that they allow to be submitted to the journal for their special issue. the more work will need to do. Instead, they should seek to encourage the best papers that meet the goals of their special issue.
- The guest editors should also be aware that the more papers that they allow to be submitted to the journal for their special issue. the more work will need to do. Instead, they should seek to encourage the best papers that meet the goals of their special issue.
- Please ask the authors to format their papers based on the TG Notes for Contributors.
- In addition to the TG Notes for Contributors, guest editor(s) are encouraged to share the following website with authors to help them to properly orient their papers to minimize simple case studies: How To Avoid a Desk Rejection: Forget the Case Study
- In addition to the TG Notes for Contributors, guest editor(s) are encouraged to share the following website with authors to help them to properly orient their papers to minimize simple case studies: How To Avoid a Desk Rejection: Forget the Case Study
(4) When formally submitting their papers to the journal (using ScholarOne), authors must check the "Special Issue" box and indicate the special issue topic. The special issue topic and guest editor(s) should also be mentioned in a cover letter to ensure that the paper is not treated as a regular submission. If these are not included, then the paper will likely be reviewed without consideration for the special issue. All papers will go through a mostly traditional double blind review process and only papers that are successful in that process will be published. Reviewers will be informed that the paper is being considered for a special issue.
TG accepts about 20% of submitted papers, so you can expect that some papers may be rejected. That being said, most Special Issues have much higher acceptance rates, although there have also been some rare instances in which most the Special issue papers submitted were rejected. The TG Editor-in-Chief will oversee the entire review process and will make the final decision on paper acceptance, based on the anonymous reviews, and in consultation with the guest editors where warranted.
(5) It is expected that all papers will have completed the review, revision and acceptance/rejection process within 18 months from the time that the special issue list of authors and titles was submitted to the TG Editor-In-Chief. The guest editor(s) should, therefore, establish some clear deadlines for contributing authors. Papers submitted to the special issue will be published online as they are accepted and copy edited. However, they will not appear in print until the last paper is accepted and processed, which can take a considerable length of time, depending on the individual author. Guest editors need to be aware that they are committing themselves to a fairly long process to see the special issue through to its completion.
(6) The guest editor(s) will provide the TG Editor-in-Chief with three (3) names of potential reviewers for each paper. Usually at least a third of the potential reviewers will decline an invitation to review the paper. Additional names are welcome, though the TG Editor-in-Chief will also draw on other databases of referees to ask. Do not ask authors to recommend their own reviewers. Do not recommend authors who are contributing to your Special Issue to review other contributions. Also, do not recommend members of the TG Editorial Board. The TG Editor-in-Chief will invite the reviewers to review the papers, the guest editor(s) does not need to do this. The guest editor(s) will be included as one of the anonymous reviewers for each of their papers.
(7) The guest editor(s) is required to write an introduction to the special issue. This introduction is treated as a commentary and is usually not sent for review (though exceptions can be made depending on the nature of the introduction). Sometimes the TG Editor will also contribute to the introduction as one of its authors, depending on the circumstances of the particular topic.
(8) If there are other papers that have been recently accepted for publication in TG that are closely related to the special issue topic, they may be include in the same issue. The TG Editor will discuss this with the guest editor(s) if this situation arises. Sometimes these are also brought up in the guest editor's Introduction, but not always. If we can fill most of an issue with papers that follow the same topic, then Routledge/T&F is likely to offer to re-publish the special issue for distribution as a book, which is a nice bonus.
(9) Based on recent experience, most guest editors give authors from 3 to 5 months to submit their full papers after the guest editors have done the initial review and selection based on the abstracts they have received. Papers submitted to TG are published online soon after they are accepted. On average, however, special issues have been appearing in final print form about 2 years after the initial CFP has been issued. Please consider also publishing your special issue as a book (see below).
See also this blog post on The Role of Guest Editors for Tourism Geographies.
Please contact Alan A. Lew, TG Editor-in-Chief, if you have any questions about this process.
Special Issues and Tourism Places
Depending on the topic, Special issues may contain a mix of theoretical and case study papers. When this is the case, the theoretically-base papers will be treated as Regular Research papers, whereas those that are primarily case studies will be treated as Tourism Places articles. The Editors will determine which papers are designates as Tourism Places articles. All Special Issue papers will appear in the same issue of Tourism Geographies. Click here for more information on Tourism Places.
Publishing a Special Issue as a Book
Taylor and Francis will often re-publish a special issue of a journal as a separate hard cover book after the journal issue comes out. Ne new material will be allowed to be added to the book version. This is a relatively easy process and Guest Editor(s) are encouraged to write a proposal to have this done. Full information on this process can be found here.
Depending on the topic, Special issues may contain a mix of theoretical and case study papers. When this is the case, the theoretically-base papers will be treated as Regular Research papers, whereas those that are primarily case studies will be treated as Tourism Places articles. The Editors will determine which papers are designates as Tourism Places articles. All Special Issue papers will appear in the same issue of Tourism Geographies. Click here for more information on Tourism Places.
Publishing a Special Issue as a Book
Taylor and Francis will often re-publish a special issue of a journal as a separate hard cover book after the journal issue comes out. Ne new material will be allowed to be added to the book version. This is a relatively easy process and Guest Editor(s) are encouraged to write a proposal to have this done. Full information on this process can be found here.
Guidelines for Conference Sponsorship or Support
Like many journals, Tourism Geographies often received invitations to be be a sponsor or supporter of academic conferences related to the journals mission. We are happy to do this, with the following considerations in mind.
Please contact the Editor-in-Chief, Alan Lew, if you have questions or would like to further pursue having Tourism Geographies listed as a supporter of your conference or other academic event.
- If you would like to propose a Special Issue based on papers from your conference or event, then you must follow the guidelines above for Regular Special Issues. The proposal requires that you have clearly identify potential authors and the papers they will be presenting at your event, and confirm their interest in submitting a full paper to Tourism Geographies.
- Please consider creating a Virtual Special Issue, based on the guidelines above, which could be made open access prior to and during your conference or event. This could provide a basis for discussions and context for your event, although its feasibility would depend on the topic and how well it has been covered in past issues of Tourism Geographies.
- You can also simply encourage authors to submit their individual papers to Tourism Geographies, without a special issue focus in mind. Some conference organizers have provided a pre-editing and review service for papers before they are formally submitted to Tourism Geographies, which can be helpful to many authors. These papers, however, will be treated by the journal's editors in the same way as any other independently submitted paper that the journal receives. Conference organizers are cautioned to no imply to authors there their paper will be part of a special issue or will otherwise receive any special considerations.
Please contact the Editor-in-Chief, Alan Lew, if you have questions or would like to further pursue having Tourism Geographies listed as a supporter of your conference or other academic event.
