Journal profile · HOSPITALITY, LEISURE, SPORT & TOURISM
Visitor Studies
ISSN 1064-5578 · eISSN 1934-7715 · Taylor & Francis
Visitor Studies: CAS Zone 4 · Management (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.5 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 280 days to acceptance (20 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 12% (journal website); 17 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Visitor Studies 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 Museums and Cultural Heritage, Animal and Plant Science Education and Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research, together about 44.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are Sociology and Political Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Visitor Studies is a semi-annual, peer-reviewed journal that publishes high-quality articles focusing on visitor research, reflections on the field, research methodologies, and theoretical perspectives. The journal also covers subjects related to museums and learning in out-of-school settings such as zoos, nature centers, visitor centers, historic sites, and parks. The aim of Visitor Studies is to provide an accessible, authoritative source of information within the visitor studies field. The journal offers both theoretical and practical insights of relevance to practitioners and scholars. Visitor Studies strives to develop its reputation as an international publication. Contributors to the journal share their research procedures and findings with practitioners and other researchers. Original and review articles present a forum for new data and provide practical and useful conclusions. Material found in Visitor Studies contributes to the ongoing progress and development of the field. Visitor Studies is the official journal of the Visitor Studies Association, today's premier professional organization focusing on all facets of the visitor experience in museums, zoos, nature centers, visitor centers, historic sites, parks, and other informal learning settings. VSA is committed to understanding and enhancing visitor experiences in informal learning settings through research, evaluation, and dialogue. Our common vision is for a world where lifelong learning is embraced, and where learning in informal settings benefit individuals, communities, and society at large. Issues of Visitor Studies are accessible to paid members of the Visitor Studies Association in print and electronic format, and to individuals, libraries, and other institutions through subscription. Peer Review Policy: All research articles in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and refereeing by two anonymous referees.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): HOSPITALITY, LEISURE, SPORT & TOURISM
Editor-in-chief Adam MaltesePublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Museums and Cultural HeritageArts and Humanities28.5%
- Animal and Plant Science EducationPsychology8.5%
- Diverse Aspects of Tourism ResearchSocial Sciences7.6%
- Conferences and Exhibitions ManagementSocial Sciences6.8%
- Recreation, Leisure, Wilderness ManagementPsychology6.3%
- Art Education and DevelopmentArts and Humanities3.9%
- Environmental Education and SustainabilityEnvironmental Science3.6%
- Cultural Industries and Urban DevelopmentSocial Sciences3.2%
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
- 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
Applied Social Sciences Index & Abstracts, EBSCOhost Online Research Databases, Leisure Tourism Database, SwetsWise All TitlesPublisher website
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
- 1.5Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 3.4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.79LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.79Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.6LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 1.6Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 36OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 149OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.79OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 13.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 12.12%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 14LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 60,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 500 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 2025 | 17 | 8 | 32 |
| 2024 | 7 | 2 | 18 |
| 2023 | 10 | 5 | 46 |
| 2022 | 11 | 4 | 158 |
| 2021 | 15 | 2 | 135 |
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
280 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 238 days – 310 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 80 days (20 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 358 days
- Sample
- 20 articles with submission and acceptance dates (22 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)
- 12%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 64 daysPublisher 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
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
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
Visitor Studies 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 discoverability and readers…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
All research articles in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and refereeing by two anonymous referees. Model summary
All research articles in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and refereeing by two anonymous referees.
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
- 1064-5578
- Electronic ISSN
- 1934-7715
- Society / sponsor
- Visitor Studies Association
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 28, Issue 2 (2025)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Visitor Studies
What CAS zone is Visitor Studies in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Visitor Studies 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 Visitor Studies?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 1.5 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 3.4, h-index 36.
How long does peer review take at Visitor Studies?
Based on the dates recorded on 20 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 280 days (interquartile range 238–310 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 12%. 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.
Which databases index Visitor Studies?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Visitor Studies is indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Is Visitor Studies open access, and what is the APC?
Visitor Studies is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: 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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .