Journal Introduction

Eco‑Tourism and Sustainable Development (abbreviated as ETSD, e-ISSN: 3083‑970X), published by Zhongyu International Education Centre (M), is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access academic journal in the interdisciplinary field of eco-tourism. Published on a semi-annual basis, it is released regularly in March and September each year.

The journal is led by Professor Lóránt Dénes Dávid from John von Neumann University, Hungary, as Editor-in-Chief. Its editorial board comprises experts from multiple countries in the fields of ecology, tourism, and environmental governance. ETSD implements a rigorous double-blind external peer-review process. Accepted papers are assigned individual DOIs and published in full text online, establishing an international academic platform for global scholars, policymakers, and professionals in the cultural tourism industry. The journal aggregates innovative theories, policy frameworks, and practical cases in global eco-tourism, promoting academic discourse, knowledge dissemination, and industrial implementation in eco-tourism, environmental protection, and sustainable development.

The journal accepts English manuscripts and publishes original research papers, review articles, case studies, and policy research. Research directions encompass eco-tourism destination management, environmental impact assessment of tourism development, natural resource conservation, community participation and indigenous cultural heritage protection, sustainable tourism governance and tourism economics, climate change adaptation in the tourism industry, and the application of green technological innovation. There are no submission fees; an Article Processing Charge (APC) is levied only upon acceptance. Rejected manuscripts incur no charges, and there are no additional fees for page length or figures/tables. All publications adhere to international academic publishing ethics, with standardized metadata archiving to ensure traceability and facilitate the global dissemination of research findings.

Editorial Orientation and Publishing Characteristics

In the current international publishing landscape of eco-tourism and sustainable development, leading journals predominantly focus on theoretical frameworks and large-scale empirical studies of mature tourism destinations in Europe and North America. Consequently, small-to-medium-scale eco-tourism practices, community-based cultural tourism explorations, and localized governance experiences in developing countries and the Asia-Pacific region often lack a stable international platform. Furthermore, many publications prioritize pure environmental science or tourism economics in isolation, showing limited receptiveness to interdisciplinary research integrating ecological, economic, and socio-cultural values. This makes it difficult for practical achievements from frontline industry practitioners and policy researchers to engage in dialogue with academic theories from higher education institutions.

ETSD aims to establish a complementary and symbiotic academic ecosystem alongside existing excellent journals in the field. While emphasizing the deepening of sustainable tourism theory, the journal highly values practical cases and policy implementations accumulated from frontline global cultural tourism. It seeks to bridge the academic barriers between university researchers, policy analysts, and industry practitioners. The journal’s research scope encompasses diverse global regions, with a particular focus on eco-tourism practices in the Asia-Pacific and developing regions. It prioritizes issues such as community participation, indigenous cultural protection, and the green transition of tourism in underdeveloped areas, addressing the gap in mainstream journals regarding localized practices in emerging economies. Unlike journals that focus solely on theoretical modeling, ETSD maintains a core strength in balancing theory, policy, and case studies. It encourages interdisciplinary research that combines academic rigor with practical guiding value and supports comprehensive assessments of tourism sustainability from ecological, economic, and socio-cultural dimensions.

In terms of publishing operations, the journal strictly adheres to international academic publishing ethics, clearly defining the rights and responsibilities of editors, reviewers, and authors. It has established standardized procedures for corrections and retractions. Fee structures are transparent with no hidden costs. All accepted articles are assigned DOIs and feature standardized metadata archiving to ensure searchability and traceability. Maintaining a stable semi-annual publication schedule and leveraging the open-access model to eliminate reading barriers, ETSD ensures that research on sustainable eco-tourism better serves global destination governance and green industrial transformation.

Scope of Manuscripts

Focusing on the interdisciplinary fields of eco-tourism, environmental protection, and sustainable development, the journal accepts English manuscripts including original research papers, review articles, case studies, and policy research. Topics include but are not limited to: - Eco-tourism practices, management of protected areas, and tourism destination management - Environmental impact assessment of tourism development, biodiversity, and natural resource conservation - Community participation models in tourism development, protection of indigenous culture and intangible cultural heritage - Sustainable tourism policies, governance mechanisms, and tourism economics research - Climate change adaptation strategies for the tourism industry and application of green technological innovation - Eco-tourism transition in developing countries/Asia-Pacific regions and tourism social-ecological systems research

Instructions for Authors

1. Manuscripts must be in English and represent original work that has not been previously published. Simultaneous submissions to multiple journals are strictly prohibited.

2. Submitted manuscripts must pass plagiarism detection, with similarity rates complying with journal standards.

3. Peer-review process: Editorial preliminary review → Double-blind peer review by experts → Final editorial decision. Authors must revise and resubmit according to reviewers’ comments.

4. There are no submission fees. An Article Processing Charge (APC) is required only upon acceptance. Rejected manuscripts incur no fees, and there are no additional charges based on length or the number of figures/tables.

5. Please submit complete manuscript materials through the online submission system on the journal’s official website.

Contact Information

Journal Official Website: https://journals.zycentre.com/etsd/issue/archive

Researchers, policy experts, and cultural tourism practitioners in the fields of ecology, tourism, and environment, both domestically and internationally, are warmly invited to submit their manuscripts to jointly promote international academic exchange in global eco-tourism and sustainable development.

Editorial Office of Eco‑Tourism and Sustainable Development Nature and Zhongyu International Education Centre (M)