IMPORTANT AUTHORSHIP REQUIREMENTS

Authorship Criteria

Apollo: Journal of Tourism and Business adopts the four ICMJE authorship criteria below. This policy supports transparent authorship and contributorship in line with COPE Core Practices; the four criteria themselves originate from ICMJE.

Every person listed as an author must meet all four criteria:

1. Substantial contribution: Make substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of its data.
2. Intellectual involvement in the manuscript: Draft the manuscript or critically review it for important intellectual content.
3. Final approval: Approve the version to be published.
4. Accountability: Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work and to ensure that questions concerning the accuracy or integrity of any part are appropriately investigated and resolved.

All individuals who meet these criteria must be included as authors. Contributors who meet the first criterion must be given the opportunity to participate in manuscript drafting or critical review and final approval. Authors should be able to identify the responsibilities of their co-authors and have confidence in the integrity of their contributions.

Unacceptable authorship practices: Gift, honorary, guest, purchased, or ghost authorship is not permitted. Position, seniority, general supervision, funding, administrative support, language editing, or proofreading alone does not qualify someone for authorship. Relevant non-author contributions should be acknowledged with the individual's written permission.

Author agreement and changes: The author group must agree on the author list, order, and corresponding author before submission. Requests to add, remove, or reorder authors after submission must include a reason and written agreement from all authors, including anyone being added or removed, and require editorial approval. Changes after publication require an appropriate correction if approved. Unresolved disputes may pause editorial processing and be referred to the relevant institution for investigation; editors do not arbitrate authorship entitlement.

AI tools: AI systems cannot be authors because they cannot assume authorship responsibilities. Disclosure requirements are provided in Section 20.

Policy references: COPE Core Practices and ICMJE: Defining the Role of Authors and Contributors.

Author Guidelines

Authors are requested to read these submission guidelines carefully before submitting a manuscript to Apollo: Journal of Tourism and Business.

All manuscripts must comply with the journal's focus and scope, formatting requirements, publication ethics, peer-review policy, and manuscript preparation standards.

1. Language

Manuscripts must be written in English.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that the manuscript is clear, grammatically correct, academically appropriate, and carefully proofread before submission.

Authors whose first language is not English are strongly encouraged to conduct professional or qualified language editing before submission when necessary.

2. Format and Length

Authors must prepare their manuscript using the journal's official template.

Download Apollo Journal Template

• The manuscript must be submitted in Microsoft Word format.
• PDF, LaTeX, and other file formats are not accepted as the primary submission file unless specifically requested by the editor.
• The manuscript should use the journal's single-column template.
• The main manuscript body should normally contain at least 4,000 words, excluding the abstract, tables, figures, references, appendices, and supplementary materials.
• Authors should follow the layout, typography, spacing, and formatting provided in the official template.

3. Manuscript Structure

Research manuscripts should generally contain the following elements in this order:

1. Article type or research category;
2. Article title;
3. Full name of all authors;
4. Author affiliations;
5. Corresponding author email address;
6. Abstract;
7. Keywords;
8. Introduction;
9. Methods;
10. Results and Discussion;
11. Conclusion;
12. Acknowledgments;
13. Author Contributions;
14. Funding Statement;
15. Conflict of Interest Statement;
16. Artificial Intelligence Disclosure, where applicable;
17. References; and
18. Appendices or supplementary material, where applicable.

The standard main-body structure for original research articles is:

4. Article Title

The title should be concise, informative, specific, and accurately reflect the principal content of the manuscript.

• The title should preferably contain no more than 15 words.
• Avoid unnecessary abbreviations, formulas, and overly general wording.
• The title should clearly communicate the principal topic, variables, context, or methodological focus of the study where appropriate.

5. Authorship

Eligibility for authorship is defined in the highlighted Authorship Criteria at the top of this page.

Provide each author's full name and accurate institutional affiliation, and check spelling and author order before submission. Identify the corresponding author and provide a valid email address.

The corresponding author coordinates communication with the journal during submission, review, revision, publication, and any post-publication queries, and ensures that required author approvals and declarations are complete. This role does not replace the responsibilities of the other authors.

6. Abstract

The abstract should be presented as a single structured narrative paragraph and should normally contain approximately 150–250 words.

The abstract should concisely communicate:

• Background or context — why the study is important;
• Research problem or objective — what the study seeks to address;
• Methods — how the study was conducted;
• Main results or findings — the principal outcomes;
• Conclusion and implications — what the findings mean for theory, practice, policy, or future research.

Avoid unnecessary citations, unexplained abbreviations, extensive statistical detail, and general statements that do not communicate the actual contribution of the study.

7. Keywords

Authors should provide 3–5 keywords or key phrases that accurately represent the main concepts of the manuscript.

Keywords should preferably complement rather than simply repeat words already used in the article title.

8. Introduction

The Introduction should provide sufficient scholarly context to explain the relevance, originality, and purpose of the research.

Authors should:

• Introduce the broader research context and progressively narrow the discussion to the specific research problem;
• Review relevant prior studies and identify important developments in the field;
• Clearly identify the research gap;
• Explain the novelty and contribution of the study;
• State the research objective, research question, or hypothesis clearly;
• Synthesize recent and relevant literature rather than merely listing previous studies; and
• Avoid excessive discussion of basic textbook theory.

Authors are encouraged to use recent primary literature from reputable scholarly journals and conference proceedings. The previous guidelines required at least ten references overall and emphasized recent primary literature.

9. Methods

The Methods section must provide sufficient information for readers to understand how the research was conducted and, where applicable, allow the study to be replicated.

Authors should describe, where relevant:

• Research design;
• Population and sample;
• Participant characteristics;
• Sampling technique and sample-size rationale;
• Data sources;
• Data collection procedures;
• Survey, interview, observation, experiment, or case-study procedures;
• Variables, measures, or instruments;
• Reliability and validity procedures;
• Statistical, qualitative, computational, or analytical methods;
• Software, tools, algorithms, or packages used;
• Ethical approval and informed consent where required; and
• Any modification made to established methods.

Novel methods should be described in sufficient detail. Established methods may be summarized and supported with appropriate references.

10. Results and Discussion

Apollo: Journal of Tourism and Business generally uses a combined Results and Discussion section.

Authors should:

• Present the most important findings clearly and systematically;
• Avoid presenting unnecessary raw data;
• Avoid duplicating the same information in text, tables, and figures;
• Interpret rather than merely repeat numerical results;
• Explain the significance of the findings;
• Compare the findings with previous studies;
• Explain agreements, differences, or unexpected findings;
• Discuss theoretical, managerial, policy, methodological, or practical implications where relevant;
• Relate findings directly to the research objectives or hypotheses; and
• State important limitations where necessary.

Large raw datasets or detailed intermediate calculations that are not essential to the main discussion should preferably be placed in an appendix or supplementary material.

If software or computational tools are used, authors should provide the software name and version when relevant. The original guidelines also requested disclosure of software used and whether code is available.

11. Conclusion

The Conclusion should clearly answer the research objective and synthesize the principal contribution of the study.

Authors should:

• Summarize the principal findings without unnecessarily repeating the Results section;
• Explain the contribution to tourism, hospitality, business, management, entrepreneurship, or related interdisciplinary fields;
• Discuss relevant theoretical or practical implications;
• Acknowledge important limitations where appropriate; and
• Provide reasonable recommendations for future research.

12. Headings

Main headings should follow the official journal template.

• Main research headings normally consist of INTRODUCTION, METHODS, RESULTS AND DISCUSSION, and CONCLUSION.
• Secondary headings should be formatted consistently according to the template.
• Third-level headings should also follow the journal template.
• Avoid unnecessary subdivision of short sections.

13. Equations

• Equations must be created using an equation editor and should not be inserted as images.
• Each equation should appear as close as reasonably possible to its first citation in the text.
• Equations should be numbered consecutively where numbering is necessary.
• Each equation must be cited in the manuscript text using a consistent format, such as Equation (1).
• All variables and symbols should be defined when first introduced.

14. Tables

• Tables must be created as editable tables, not inserted as images.
• Every table must have a concise and descriptive caption.
• Tables should be numbered consecutively.
• Every table must be cited in the manuscript text.
• Tables should be placed close to the first relevant discussion where possible.
• Notes, abbreviations, significance levels, superscripts, and symbols must be clearly explained below the table.
• Do not reproduce information unnecessarily in both a table and a figure.

15. Figures

• Figures should be numbered consecutively and cited in the manuscript text.
• Each figure must include a concise and informative caption.
• Figures should be placed near their first relevant citation where possible.
• All text, labels, legends, and symbols must remain readable at publication size.
• Figures should be submitted at sufficient resolution for publication.
• Charts produced in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint should preferably remain editable.
• Authors are responsible for obtaining permission for copyrighted figures reproduced or adapted from other sources.

16. Acknowledgments

Individuals who contributed to the study but do not meet the criteria for authorship may be recognized in the Acknowledgments section.

Authors must obtain written permission from individuals before naming them in the Acknowledgments. Describe their contributions accurately; eligibility for the author list is governed by the highlighted Authorship Criteria above.

17. Author Contributions

Authors must provide a concise statement describing the actual contribution of each author. This statement records who did what; it does not replace the four Authorship Criteria above. All listed authors must meet those criteria, regardless of their assigned contribution roles.

Authors may use CRediT contribution roles where appropriate, including the following examples:

• Conceptualization;
• Methodology;
• Data curation;
• Formal analysis;
• Investigation;
• Writing – original draft;
• Writing – review and editing;
• Visualization;
• Supervision; and
• Project administration.

Example: A.B.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – Original Draft. C.D.: Data Curation, Formal Analysis, Visualization. E.F.: Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing – Review and Editing. All authors approved the final manuscript and agree to be accountable for the work.

18. Funding Statement

Authors must disclose all financial support received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of the article.

Example with funding:

Example without specific funding:

19. Conflict of Interest Statement

Authors must disclose any financial, personal, professional, institutional, or other competing interests that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research.

Example:

20. Artificial Intelligence Disclosure

Authors must disclose any substantial use of generative artificial intelligence or AI-assisted technologies in the preparation of the manuscript or research where such disclosure is relevant.

For authorship eligibility, including the exclusion of AI tools from the author list, see the highlighted Authorship Criteria above.

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, citations, data, interpretation, and integrity of all submitted content.

Example:

21. References

References must follow the IEEE citation and reference style.

• References should be numbered according to the order in which they first appear in the manuscript.
• In-text citations should use square brackets, for example [1], [2], or [3]–[5].
• The reference list must not be arranged alphabetically.
• Authors should provide complete and accurate bibliographic information.
• DOIs should be included whenever available.
• The manuscript should normally contain at least 10 scholarly references.
• At least 60% of references should preferably consist of recent primary scholarly literature relevant to the research topic.
• Authors are strongly encouraged to use reference-management software such as Mendeley, Zotero, or EndNote.
• Authors are responsible for ensuring that every cited reference exists, is accurate, and genuinely supports the statement for which it is cited.

22. Basic IEEE Reference Examples

Journal Article

[1] A. A. Author and B. B. Author, “Title of article,” Journal Title, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 100–110, 2026, doi: xx.xxxx/xxxxx.

Book

[2] A. A. Author, Title of Book, 2nd ed. City, Country: Publisher, 2025.

Book Chapter

[3] A. A. Author, “Title of chapter,” in Title of Book, B. B. Editor, Ed. City, Country: Publisher, 2024, pp. 25–40.

Conference Paper

[4] A. A. Author and B. B. Author, “Title of conference paper,” in Proc. International Conference Name, City, Country, 2025, pp. 100–105.

Web Resource

[5] Organization Name, “Title of webpage,” Website Name. Accessed: Sep. 6, 2026. [Online]. Available: URL.

23. Pre-Submission Checklist