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The Silk Road Journal on Sustainable Tourism and Cultural Heritage publishes original scholarly manuscripts in the fields of sustainable tourism, cultural heritage management, heritage tourism, cultural corridors, community-based tourism, tourism policy, and long-term sustainability. The journal welcomes theoretical, empirical, and policy-oriented studies that contribute to responsible tourism development and heritage preservation.

Types of Manuscripts

The journal accepts the following types of manuscripts:

  1. Original research articles

  2. Conceptual and theoretical articles

  3. Empirical studies

  4. Case studies on tourism and heritage

  5. Policy analysis articles

  6. Heritage conservation and management studies

  7. Community-based tourism studies

  8. Interdisciplinary studies on tourism, culture, environment, and sustainability

General Requirements

Submitted manuscripts must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration by another journal. The manuscript must be written in clear academic English and should be relevant to sustainable tourism development, cultural heritage management, or related fields.

Authors must ensure that the manuscript is free from plagiarism, duplicate publication, data fabrication, data falsification, and misleading claims. All sources, including books, journal articles, reports, maps, interviews, archival materials, images, and cultural documentation, must be properly cited.

Manuscript Structure

The manuscript should generally include the following sections:

Title
The title should be concise, specific, and clearly reflect the main focus of the study.

Author Information
Authors must provide full name, institutional affiliation, email address, and ORCID ID where available.

Abstract
The abstract should summarize the background, objective, research approach, main findings, and contribution of the study. The abstract should be written in one paragraph and should not contain citations.

Keywords
Authors should provide 3–6 keywords that represent the main topic of the manuscript.

Introduction
The introduction should explain the research background, gap, objective, novelty, and contribution to sustainable tourism and cultural heritage studies.

Literature Review
This section should present relevant theories, concepts, and previous studies related to tourism, heritage management, sustainability, cultural preservation, local communities, or policy development.

Research Design and Analysis
This section should describe the research approach, data sources, research setting, participants or informants where relevant, data collection procedures, instruments, and analytical techniques.

Results
The results should be presented clearly and systematically. Tables, figures, maps, diagrams, or photographs may be used when relevant.

Discussion
The discussion should interpret the findings, relate them to previous studies and theories, and explain their contribution to sustainable tourism, cultural heritage preservation, community welfare, and policy development.

Conclusion
The conclusion should summarize the main findings, scholarly contribution, practical implications, limitations, and recommendations for future research.

Acknowledgment
Authors may acknowledge individuals, institutions, communities, or organizations that supported the research.

Funding Statement
Authors must disclose all sources of funding or state that no funding was received.

Conflict of Interest Statement
Authors must declare any potential conflict of interest. If there is no conflict, authors should state: “The authors declare no conflict of interest.”

References
All cited sources must be listed in the reference section. References must be accurate, complete, and consistent with APA 7th edition style.

Formatting Guidelines

Manuscripts should follow these requirements:

  1. Manuscript length: 5,000–8,000 words, including references

  2. File format: Microsoft Word document

  3. Font: Times New Roman, 12 pt

  4. Spacing: 1.5 line spacing

  5. Paper size: A4

  6. Margins: 2.5 cm on all sides

  7. Citation style: APA 7th edition

  8. Tables and figures must be numbered consecutively

  9. Tables, figures, maps, and photographs must have clear titles

  10. Images must be high quality and properly credited

Ethical Requirements

Authors must follow ethical standards in conducting and reporting research. Studies involving local communities, cultural heritage sites, oral histories, interviews, traditional knowledge, sacred places, or tourism stakeholders must respect informed consent, privacy, confidentiality, cultural sensitivity, and community rights.

Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to use copyrighted or culturally sensitive materials, including photographs, maps, archival records, community narratives, and heritage documentation.

Similarity and Plagiarism Screening

All submitted manuscripts may be checked using similarity detection software. Manuscripts containing plagiarism, excessive similarity, duplicate publication, or improper citation may be rejected before or during the review process.

Submission Process

Authors should submit manuscripts through the journal’s online submission system. Before submission, authors must ensure that:

  1. The manuscript follows the journal template

  2. The manuscript has not been published or submitted elsewhere

  3. All author information is complete and accurate

  4. The abstract and keywords are included

  5. Tables, figures, maps, and photographs are properly numbered and titled

  6. References follow APA 7th edition style

  7. Ethical statements are included where applicable

  8. Funding and conflict of interest statements are provided

Peer Review Process

Submitted manuscripts will undergo editorial screening to assess relevance, originality, structure, ethical compliance, and suitability for the journal. Manuscripts that meet the initial requirements will be sent for peer review. Editorial decisions may include acceptance, minor revision, major revision, resubmission, or rejection.

Revision Policy

Authors who receive revision requests must revise the manuscript carefully based on editor and reviewer comments. Revised manuscripts should be submitted together with a response letter explaining how each comment has been addressed.

Copyright and Licensing

Authors are responsible for the content of their published work. By submitting a manuscript, authors agree to follow the journal’s copyright and licensing policy. Authors must obtain permission for copyrighted materials used in the manuscript, including figures, tables, maps, photographs, datasets, and other third-party content.

Final Proof

Before publication, authors may receive a final proof for checking. At this stage, only minor corrections related to spelling, formatting, author information, and layout are allowed. Major content changes are not permitted after final approval.