Submission Guidelines & Templates
Everything you need to prepare your manuscript for submission to CACTUS – Journal of Tourism Business, Management and Economics: from the 2026 manuscript templates and formatting requirements to practical guidance for a smooth and successful submission process.
CACTUS – Journal of Tourism Business, Management and Economics welcomes submissions from authors working in tourism, hospitality, services, business, management, and economics.
- CACTUS is a biannual, peer-reviewed academic journal published in June and December by the Bucharest University of Economic Studies (ASE), Faculty of Business and Tourism, Department of Tourism and Geography.
- The journal provides immediate open access to all published articles and charges no submission fees and no article processing charges (APCs), following a Diamond Open Access model. The published Version of Record is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.
Types of paper
Original Research Articles:
Full-length papers presenting original conceptual and/or empirical research. Methods and procedures should be described with sufficient clarity and detail to support transparency, verification, and, where appropriate, reproducibility.
Review Articles:
Critical and up-to-date review papers, including systematic, scoping, integrative, or narrative reviews, addressing topics of current scholarly relevance and offering a clear contribution, such as conceptual frameworks, research agendas, or theory development.
Research Notes / Short Communications:
Concise manuscripts presenting a focused contribution, such as targeted empirical findings, early but robust results, conceptual clarifications, or measurement notes. These submissions should be proportionate in length to the scope of their contribution.
Methodological / Analytical Papers:
Papers proposing, validating, refining, or comparing methods, models, instruments, or analytical approaches relevant to tourism, services, business, management, and economics.
Case Study Articles:
Evidence-based case studies examining destinations, organizations, policies, or markets, with clear methodological rigor and meaningful implications for both research and practice.
Recommendations
Paper Title
The title should describe the content of the article clearly, accurately, and concisely. Wherever possible, it should include the key terms that best reflect the topic and that readers are likely to use when searching for academic literature online.
Abstract
The abstract should provide enough information for readers to understand the nature, relevance, and contribution of the manuscript. It should briefly summarize the objectives, methodology, results, and conclusions of the study. To support discoverability, the abstract should naturally reflect the central concepts of the article without unnecessary repetition.
Keywords
Please provide three to five keywords or key phrases that capture the essence of the paper, listed in decreasing order of importance. Keywords should be consistent with the title and abstract and should help readers identify the topic of the manuscript clearly.
JEL Classification
Manuscripts should follow the Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) classification system and include minimum 2 JEL codes.
Introduction
The introduction should familiarize readers with the context of the paper, briefly position the topic within the relevant literature, and clearly state the purpose and objectives of the study.
Paper Body
Conclusions
A conclusion section is required. It should synthesize the main contributions of the paper, discuss the importance of the work, and or suggest possible applications and extensions of the research.
Rules regarding article formatting
1. General Formatting & Metadata
Language: English.
Title: Times New Roman (TNR), 12 pt, Bold, Capitals, Left-aligned.
Abstract: Maximum 250 words, TNR 10, Italic, Justified.
Keywords: Maximum of 5 keywords, TNR 10, Regular, separated by commas; avoid unnecessary repetition of words already used in the title.
JEL Classification: Minimum 2 codes required according to the JEL Codes system.
2. Manuscript Structure
All body paragraphs must be formatted with TNR 11, Regular, space 6 pt, using Justify alignment.
Introduction: Present the objectives and provide an appropriate background to the study; avoid an overly detailed literature review or an extensive summary of the results.
Methodology: Describe the research methods, sample, study period, and data collection tools clearly.
Results: Present the findings in a structured and coherent manner.
Conclusions: Address the research questions, discuss validity and limitations, and outline theoretical and practical implications.
3. Visuals & Tables
Tables: Captions must be placed above the table (TNR 11, Bold). Use TNR 10 for table content.
Figures: Captions must be placed below the illustration; short captions are centered, long ones are justified (TNR 11, Bold).
Sources: Sources for all tables and figures must be provided below the element in TNR 10, Italic.
4. References and APA In-Text Citations
The journal strictly follows the APA (7th edition) referencing style.
In-Text Citations: * Use the (Author, Year) format for all citations.
For works with three or more authors, use (First Author et al., Year) from the first citation.
Reference List: All cited works must be listed alphabetically by the surname of the first author.
For articles with a DOI, it is mandatory to include the full DOI link.
Please ensure that every work listed in the references is cited in the text, and that every in-text citation appears in the reference list.
The referencing style can be accessed here.
5. Ethical Compliance & Blind Review
Blind Review: to preserve anonymity during review, please use placeholders for Authorship Contribution, Funding, and Acknowledgments — for example: “To be completed after the review process.”
Data Availability: authors should indicate how data can be accessed or state that data are available upon request.
Conflict of Interest: authors should declare any potential conflicts of interest or state: “The authors declare no conflicts of interest.”
Ethics: manuscripts should confirm that the research was conducted in accordance with applicable ethical standards.
Author Guidelines
CACTUS – Journal of Tourism Business, Management and Economics is a peer-reviewed, diamond open access academic journal published biannually by the Bucharest University of Economic Studies; the journal provides an international platform for research in tourism, hospitality, business, management, economics, and the wider service economy.
The journal welcomes manuscripts reporting original research that have not been published previously and are not under consideration elsewhere.
Papers previously presented at conferences are welcome, provided that they have not been published in full in the conference volume.
All articles will be submitted in British or American English.
Important Specifications
CACTUS is published twice a year, in June and December, and manuscripts may be submitted throughout the year.
Following submission, manuscripts undergo an initial eligibility screening based on compliance with the Author Guidelines and manuscript requirements. Authors are informed by email of the outcome of this preliminary assessment. After this, the manuscript is verified for plagiarism and AI use.
Eligible manuscripts proceed to double-blind peer review. The review process is typically completed within 4–6 weeks from the date reviewers are invited.
Authors are kindly asked to follow the official template provided. While there is no strict word limit, manuscripts should remain clear, concise, and sufficiently developed. As a general orientation, papers of 4,000–8,000 words are especially welcome.
Manuscripts that do not comply with the formatting and submission requirements set out in the template may be returned or declined before peer review.
All manuscripts should be submitted using the submission form available on the journal’s platform..