With the completion of issue 45(4) of Tourism Recreation Research (TRR), I have completed one-year term as the Editor-in-Chief of the journal. From the onset, the year 2020 has posed severe challenges for the global community due to the outbreak of Covid-19. The Tourism Industry is a worst-hit as this pandemic has paralysed the movement of people across the international borders. The sectors such as airlines, resorts and hotels, MICE and entertainment, tours and travel agencies and many other tourism intermediaries severely affected. Academia and research community could not be remained untouched by the threats of the disease, and due to lockdowns and closures, campus and field activities were suspended, giving rise to online education and research activities. Although Internet-based learning platforms are safe to fight with coronavirus by making social and physical distancing, extended use of these online Apps has raised some other health issues such as stress, eye problem, anxiety and depression among students, teachers and research scholars. The pandemic has affected both field-based and institution-based researches. Those involved in field researches, particularly in primary data collection from the community and public have been severely affected due to the safety and health concerns of potential respondents While in institutional-based research, pandemic has shifted research priorities of the institutions more towards health and hygiene. Despite many odds, research reviews continue to publish valuable research during this tough time. TRR also continues to flourish with a 50% increase in the manuscript submission rate over the last year. I am writing this editorial to convey my words of appreciation not only to those who have submitted their research works to TRR and chosen TRR as one of their publishing outlets, but to all stakeholders, the publisher, board members, reviewers, readers and the subscribers for their support during this challenging time.
Our editorial board, Masood and I are doing our best to make TRR one of the best academic research journals in which worldwide tourism and multi-disciplinary scholars can publish their work. We are also striving to give out Fair, Fast, and Constructive reviews, so that research can proceed without being delayed in the review process. We believe that getting out constructive reviews relatively quick facilitates researchers moving forward in making theoretical and practical contributions.
Unless a manuscript is beyond the scope of TRR, Masood and I try not to desk reject it. We would like to be neutral and try to initiate communication between reviewers and our potential authors so that authors can get valuable feedback for quality improvement. We are of the opinion that both potential authors and reviewers learn something from each other and both are the facilitators of knowledge.
TRR normally accepts or rejects papers based on at least two reviewers’ recommendations, but in some cases, due to contrasting reviews, we take opinions from three or four reviewers for final decision-making. Due to COVID-19, we have had a hard time finding reviewers. According to our editorial records, one of the papers has been declined for review by around 10 scholars. During the worst of situations, some reviews have even been delayed for around 10 weeks due to some unavoidable circumstances at reviewers’ end. We appreciate the understanding and patience of all potential authors and reviewers. We cannot move forward without your support! TRR stands by you.
For those whose manuscripts are rejected, suggestions and guidance were provided by the reviewers for developing and strengthening their work so that they can resubmit after removing the inherent weaknesses. Rejection doesn’t mean the ‘end of the world’, but it gives an opportunity to rethink and analyse the research questions to fix the problems for resubmission.
In the end, I seek support from the authors, reviewers and board members for the coming years as I believe it takes a community of scholars to run a journal. I also hope that the struggling time for international tourism will come to an end very soon and tourism will again become a key player in shaping our economies, our communities, our behaviour and our fate.