Plagiarism Policy

Advances in Tourism Studies (ATS) upholds a strict zero-tolerance policy on plagiarism. All manuscripts submitted to ATS must be original and free from any form of academic dishonesty or misappropriation of intellectual content.

Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism refers to the use or close imitation of the language, ideas, or work of another author without proper attribution. This includes but is not limited to:

Copying text, images, or ideas without acknowledgment
Paraphrasing without credit
Submitting previously published work as new (self-plagiarism or redundant publication)

Editorial Policy

Authors must ensure that their submissions are:

Original and unpublished
Not under consideration elsewhere
Properly cited when including verbatim or paraphrased material from other sources

Direct quotations must be clearly identified using:

Indentation
Quotation marks
Source citation

Use of graphic material or lengthy textual excerpts requires proper permission from the copyright holder and source attribution.

All manuscripts will be screened using Turnitin for similarity checks. A similarity report will be shared with the author as part of the editorial decision process.

Similarity Thresholds and Editorial Actions

Similarity Index	Editorial Decision
Above 25%	Generally rejected without further consideration due to excessive similarity, unless editors determine the overlap arises from acceptable sources such as references or methodology.
16% – 25%	Returned for major revision. Authors must provide proper citations and paraphrasing. A new Turnitin report is required upon resubmission.
15% or less	Manuscript is usually acceptable, subject to minor citation improvements if needed.

The similarity index serves as a guideline. Final editorial decisions will consider the type, context, and significance of overlapping material. Manuscripts that fail to meet ATS plagiarism standards may be declined at any stage of the review process.