Journal profile · HOSPITALITY, LEISURE, SPORT & TOURISM
Journal of China Tourism Research
ISSN 1938-8160 · eISSN 1938-8179 · Taylor & Francis
Journal of China Tourism Research: CAS Zone 4 · Management (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.3 (journal website); JCR Q2 (journal website); subscription journal; APC charged, amount not published; median 258 days to acceptance (77 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 18% (journal website); 50 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of China Tourism Research is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 4 of Management in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research, Digital Marketing and Social Media and Cruise Tourism Development and Management, together about 47.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Sociology and Political Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Journal of China Tourism Research (JCTR) is the official journal of the International Association of China Tourism Studies (IACTS) and is now indexed in the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI)! JCTR is a truly international journal that publishes the latest research on tourism (all articles printed in English with Chinese abstracts) that relates to China and the Chinese. It provides a rich forum for exchange of fresh information and ideas among academics and practitioners; fosters and enhances cutting-edge research activities that advance the knowledge of tourism; and discusses the relevance of tourism to Chinese society. The journal encourages interdisciplinary scholarship and commentaries, aims at the highest intellectual level, and only publishes manuscripts that make significant contributions to the subject areas. Peer Review Integrity All submitted manuscripts are subject to initial appraisal by the Editor, and, if found suitable for further consideration, to peer review by independent, anonymous expert referees. All peer review is double anonymized and submission is online via ScholarOne Manuscripts.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): HOSPITALITY, LEISURE, SPORT & TOURISM
Editor-in-chief Haiyan SongPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 38 in mainland China (about 42%); most named Mainland China 38, Hong Kong, China 15, United States 14, Macau, China 6, Australia 4 (90 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Diverse Aspects of Tourism ResearchSocial Sciences28.5%
- Digital Marketing and Social MediaSocial Sciences11%
- Cruise Tourism Development and ManagementSocial Sciences8.3%
- Customer Service Quality and LoyaltyBusiness, Management and Accounting7%
- Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and IdentificationBusiness, Management and Accounting6.8%
- Hospitality and Tourism EducationBusiness, Management and Accounting5.2%
- Sport and Mega-Event ImpactsSocial Sciences4%
- Culinary Culture and TourismAgricultural and Biological Sciences3.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Management Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Management Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q2 · best quartile · 2025
- CiteScore Q1 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
CAB AbstractsPublisher website
Other: EBSCOhost Online Research Databases, Institute for Tourism, NewJour, Worldwide Hospitality & Tourism Trends Database
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.3Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.3LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 5.3Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.55LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.55Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.88LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.88Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 40OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 301OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.56OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 1.59%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 48LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 60,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 677 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 26 | 6 | 9 |
| 2025 | 50 | 6 | 91 |
| 2024 | 43 | 9 | 205 |
| 2023 | 37 | 7 | 310 |
| 2022 | 47 | 8 | 517 |
| 2021 | 45 | 17 | 352 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
258 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 216 days – 310 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 19 days (77 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 278 days
- Sample
- 77 articles with submission and acceptance dates (81 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 18%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 35 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 114 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 19 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Subscription journalLetPub
A subscription journal: articles are read by subscription or purchase, and authors usually pay no publication charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Journal of China Tourism Research is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discovera…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Peer review: double anonymized; online submission via ScholarOne Manuscripts. Model summary
All submitted manuscripts are subject to initial appraisal by the Editor, and, if found suitable for further consideration, to peer review by independent, anonymous expert referees. All peer review is double anonymized and submission is online via ScholarOne Manuscripts.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 1938-8160
- Electronic ISSN
- 1938-8179
- Society / sponsor
- International Association of China Tourism Studies
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 22, Issue 3 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of China Tourism Research
What CAS zone is Journal of China Tourism Research in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of China Tourism Research is in Zone 4 of Management, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Management. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of China Tourism Research?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 2.3 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 5.3, h-index 40.
How long does peer review take at Journal of China Tourism Research?
Based on the dates recorded on 77 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 258 days (interquartile range 216–310 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 18%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What JCR quartile is Journal of China Tourism Research in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q2 (best quartile). JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 4 of Management.
Where are the editorial board members of Journal of China Tourism Research based?
Of the 90 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 38 (about 42%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (38), Hong Kong, China (15) and United States (14). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of China Tourism Research?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of China Tourism Research is indexed in ESCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists CAB Abstracts; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of China Tourism Research open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of China Tourism Research is a subscription journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .