Submission Guidelines & Templates
CACTUS – Journal of Tourism Business, Management and Economics
- Publish your work in CACTUS, a biannual, peer-reviewed journal (June and December) edited by Bucharest University of Economic Studies (ASE) (Faculty of Business and Tourism, Tourism & Geography Department).
- CACTUS provides immediate open access to all published articles and charges no submission fees and no article processing charges (APCs) (Diamond Open Access). The published Version of Record is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.
Types of paper
Original Research Articles:
Full papers reporting original conceptual and/or empirical research. Methods and procedures must be presented with enough detail to support verification and reproducibility.
Review Articles:
Critical, state-of-the-art reviews (systematic, scoping, integrative, or narrative) addressing topics of current interest and offering clear contributions (e.g., frameworks, research agendas, theory development).
Research Notes / Short Communications:
Concise manuscripts with a focused contribution (e.g., targeted empirical results, early but robust findings, conceptual clarifications, measurement notes), written proportionately to the scope of the contribution.
Methodological / Analytical Papers:
Papers proposing, validating, or comparing methods, models, instruments, or analytical approaches relevant to tourism, services, business, management, and economics.
Case Study Articles:
Evidence-based case analyses (destinations, organizations, policies, markets) that demonstrate methodological rigor and clear implications for research and practice.
Recommendations
Paper Title
Abstract
Keywords
JEL Classification
Introduction
The introduction familiarizes the reader with the context of the paper. It should briefly summarize current literature and research, as well as the aim of the work presented in the paper.
Paper Body
The article should be the result of an original research. The structure of the paper should be clear and well organized. Titles and subtitles should be placed in logical sequence. Please make use of accepted terminology in your field, provide a detailed description of methodology, clearly state your results, and discuss the implications of your findings.
Conclusions
A conclusion section is required. Conclusions should provide a synthesis of 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 repeating words from 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: State the objectives and provide adequate background; avoid detailed literature surveys or result summaries.
Methodology: Detail the research methods, sample, period of application, and data collection tools.
Results: Present findings in a structured manner.
Conclusions: Answer the research questions, discuss validity, limitations, and theoretical/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 first author's surname.
For articles with a DOI, it is mandatory to include the full DOI link.
Ensure every reference in the list is cited in the text and vice-versa.
The referencing style can be accessed here.
5. Ethical Compliance & Blind Review
Blind Review: To ensure an anonymous review, leave placeholders for Authorship Contribution, Funding, and Acknowledgments ("To be completed after the review process").
Data Availability: Authors must specify how data can be accessed or state it is available upon request.
Conflict of Interest: Declare any potential conflicts or state: "The authors declare no conflicts of interest".
Ethics: Confirm the study was conducted in accordance with ethical standards.
Resources
Author Guidelines
The online CACTUS is a publication of the research center with the same name, centered on the professional identification and analysis of current issues that characterize tourism in Romania and abroad.
Articles to be published in the CACTUS Journal should report original research that have never been published or submitted for publication elsewhere.
The papers presented at conferences are welcome provided they have not been published in full in the conference volume.
All articles will be submitted in British or American English.
Important Specifications
The journal is issued twice a year, in June and December. Papers may be submitted throughout the year. After the submission, the articles are subject of a verification of eligibility based on the requirements set within the Author Guidelines. Authors will be notified via email regarding the outcome of the initial manuscript evaluation. Eligible manuscripts undergo double-blind peer review, with the review process typically completed within 4–6 weeks from the date reviewers are invited. Please follow the Template provided below. Although there are no restrictions on the length of the research paper, provided that the text is concise and comprehensive, papers of 4000-8000 words are most welcome. Articles that do not conform with the requirements specified in the Template will be rejected outright, without being sent to peer review. The policy of the journal requires that an author signs not more than an article in two consecutive issues. Manuscripts should be submitted using the form provided on the Journal's website.