Journal of Destination Marketing & Management: Scopus, Scope & Submission Guide

Key Takeaways

• Publisher: Elsevier, according to the supplied journal record.
• ISSN: 2212-571X.
• Scopus identification: Source ID 21100228536 is supplied for this journal.
• Core field: destination marketing and destination management within tourism, social science and business research.
• Fit matters more than keywords: a tourism setting alone does not establish journal alignment.
• Metrics are dated facts: use the reporting year and official database when citing CiteScore, quartile, SJR, SNIP or Journal Impact Factor.
• Submission requirements can change: confirm the current Elsevier Guide for Authors immediately before submission.
• No support service can guarantee acceptance: editorial decisions remain with the journal.

Journal Information at a Glance

What This Page Covers

• Journal identity and publisher
• Aims, scope and subject fit
• Scopus record and metric checks
• Article and manuscript alignment
• Submission preparation
• Peer review and ethics
• Open access and fees
• Journal-fit checklist
• Contentxprtz publication readiness

Methodology and Source Note

This profile uses the journal identity supplied with the task—title, publisher, ISSN, subject classification and Scopus Source ID—as the fixed identification record. The intended verification hierarchy is the official journal/publisher page first, followed by the official Scopus source profile and other official indexing or metrics databases where applicable.

Journal data changes at different speeds. The journal title, publisher relationship and ISSN are relatively stable identifiers; metrics, quartiles, APCs, editorial teams, review indicators and database coverage are time-sensitive. For that reason, this guide does not manufacture a current value where a current official value was not independently established. This is especially important for researchers whose university uses a specific metric year or accepts only journals meeting a current indexing rule.

Where the Journal Sits in Destination and Tourism Research

Destination research occupies an unusual position because the object being managed is not a single firm. A destination can involve tourism boards, governments, residents, hotels, transport providers, attractions, digital platforms, event organizers and visitors whose interests do not always align. Marketing decisions therefore interact with governance, place identity, sustainability, capacity, visitor experience and long-term community outcomes.

That is the intellectual space in which Journal of Destination Marketing & Management is most useful to evaluate. The title itself signals a dual concern: how destinations create, communicate and deliver value to markets, and how destination systems are planned, organized, governed and improved. Researchers in tourism management, marketing, consumer behaviour, service research, place branding and related areas may therefore find the journal relevant when their work makes a destination-level contribution.

For a manuscript-selection decision, the distinction between tourism research and destination marketing/management research matters. A study of hotel employee turnover conducted in a famous tourist city may still be primarily a human-resource paper. By contrast, a study showing how destination-level workforce shortages affect visitor experience, brand promise and governance might create a stronger journal conversation. The destination should be part of the research logic, not just the address of the sample.

Understanding the Journal's Aims, Scope and Likely Topic Fit

Researchers should read the current official aims and scope before drafting a submission strategy. At a practical level, the journal's destination-marketing and destination-management positioning suggests a preference for research that helps explain how destinations attract, serve, influence or retain visitors, how destination organizations make decisions, and how destination systems respond to market, technological, social and environmental change.

Topic families that can be logically aligned

Where fit can weaken

A manuscript may be less convincing when it studies a tourism-adjacent topic but never explains a destination-level contribution. The same concern applies when a paper uses generic marketing constructs without showing why destination contexts change theory or practice. Purely descriptive visitor surveys, narrow case reports without analytical contribution, or firm-level studies disconnected from destination outcomes may also require a different outlet.

Understanding Its Scopus Record, Indexing and Journal Metrics

The supplied record gives Scopus Source ID 21100228536, which is the most useful identifier for checking the correct Scopus source. This can matter to PhD scholars, faculty members and institutions that require publications in journals currently covered by Scopus. However, a source ID alone should not be treated as proof that every institutional rule is satisfied. Universities may specify coverage years, quartiles, subject categories, indexing date, document type or a cut-off date.

Metrics such as CiteScore, SJR and SNIP are meaningful only with a reporting year. A quartile also depends on the metric system and subject category. A researcher should therefore record “metric + year + category/source,” not simply copy a number from a search result. If a doctoral regulation says “Q1 or Q2 Scopus journal,” check which ranking method the regulation recognizes and whether the journal's current category position meets it.

How to verify metrics responsibly

1. Open the official Scopus source profile using Source ID 21100228536.
2. Confirm the journal title and ISSN 2212-571X match the source.
3. Check whether coverage is current for the year relevant to your institution.
4. Record the metric reporting year, subject category and percentile/quartile where shown.
5. If an Impact Factor is required, verify the current value separately in Journal Citation Reports or the official journal page rather than treating CiteScore as an Impact Factor.
6. Save a screenshot or institutional record if you must demonstrate eligibility later.

Metrics can be useful context for reach and citation performance, but they do not predict whether a particular manuscript will be accepted. An editorially mismatched paper remains mismatched even in a highly visible journal.

Is This Journal a Good Match for Your Research?

A good fit is visible at three levels: topic fit, conversation fit and contribution fit. Topic fit asks whether the paper genuinely addresses destination marketing or destination management. Conversation fit asks whether the theories, questions and methods resemble or productively extend work the journal is publishing now. Contribution fit asks whether the paper gives that readership something sufficiently new or useful.

Five questions to ask before choosing the journal

• Would the paper still make sense if the destination context were removed? If yes, explain why destination scholarship genuinely needs the result.
• Can you name the destination-management or destination-marketing problem the study addresses in one sentence?
• Do recent papers in the journal use or debate theories related to your framework?
• Does your method match the strength of the claims you want to make?
• Can your discussion speak to destination managers, policymakers, marketers or destination stakeholders without forcing generic implications?

What Kinds of Papers Should Authors Consider?

The exact article types accepted at the time of submission must be taken from the current Guide for Authors. That is the controlling source for labels in the editorial system. As a publication-readiness exercise, however, authors can still evaluate whether their work has the depth expected of a research journal in this field.

Empirical research should have a clear theoretical or conceptual anchor, transparent sampling and measurement, appropriate analysis, and conclusions that remain proportionate to the evidence. Quantitative work should report enough information to assess validity and robustness; qualitative work should show how data generation, coding or interpretation supports the themes; mixed-method work should explain why integration adds knowledge rather than simply adding a second technique.

Conceptual or review-oriented work, where currently accepted, needs more than a broad summary of literature. A strong paper synthesizes a defined body of knowledge, makes the review process transparent where relevant, develops a framework or research agenda, and explains what destination researchers can now understand differently.

Before submission, confirm whether the journal currently accepts the specific category you intend to choose, what word limits or abstract structure apply, and whether supplementary material or data statements are expected.

How to Read Recent Issues for Research Fit

Recent articles are one of the best indicators of editorial conversation. Rather than searching only for your exact keywords, sample papers across the latest volumes and look for patterns in research questions, theoretical framing, geographic diversity, methods and the level at which “destination” is analyzed.

For this journal, useful scanning themes are likely to include destination image and branding, social-media influence, smart and digital tourism, visitor experience, resident responses, sustainability and overtourism, destination competitiveness, crisis and resilience, governance and stakeholder relationships. These themes should be treated as fit lenses rather than a claim that every topic is formally listed in the current scope.

Preparing and Submitting a Manuscript

The current Elsevier Guide for Authors should control all submission details. Formatting rules can change, and journal systems may request information that is not visible in a PDF alone. Treat the steps below as a publication-readiness framework rather than a substitute for the live author instructions.

1. Make the destination contribution explicit

The introduction should establish the research problem, explain what is missing in the literature, and show why a destination-marketing or destination-management readership needs the answer. Avoid a long tourism overview that delays the research gap.

2. Build a defensible method section

Describe design choices precisely enough for an informed reader to understand how evidence was produced. Define sampling, measures, instruments, coding, model specification, validity checks and ethical procedures as applicable. Do not hide limitations that materially affect interpretation.

3. Connect findings to destination theory and practice

Discussion should do more than repeat results. Explain which theoretical expectation was supported, challenged or refined and what the destination context contributes. Practical implications should identify realistic actors—such as DMOs, policymakers, destination marketers, community stakeholders or tourism businesses—only where the evidence supports those implications.

4. Complete the submission package

• Manuscript file in the required structure and style.
• Title page and author details in the form required by the submission system.
• Accurate abstract, keywords and highlights where requested.
• Tables and figures in acceptable formats with clear captions and permissions where necessary.
• Conflict-of-interest, funding, authorship and ethics declarations as applicable.
• Data availability or supplementary-material statements where required.
• Cover letter that explains scope fit and contribution without exaggerating novelty.
• Reference list checked for completeness, DOI accuracy and consistency.

What Happens After You Submit a Manuscript?

The detailed peer-review model and average timelines should be taken from the journal's current official policies. In general editorial workflows, a submission can first be checked for completeness and scope, then evaluated by an editor before external review is considered. A paper may be declined at this stage if it falls outside scope, lacks sufficient contribution, has major methodological weaknesses or does not meet essential reporting or ethical requirements.

If reviewers are invited, their role is to evaluate the manuscript's contribution, evidence, logic, method, clarity and relevance. A revision request is not an acceptance promise. When responding, prepare a point-by-point document that reproduces each concern, states what changed, gives page or line references, and explains respectfully when a suggested change is not adopted.

Do not suggest reviewers with fabricated identities, manipulate peer review, conceal conflicts or ask a third party to impersonate the author. The corresponding author remains responsible for the accuracy of the response and the revised manuscript.

Open Access, Publication Fees and Funding Questions

Open-access routes and publication charges are time-sensitive publisher facts. Authors should use the current Elsevier journal page to see which publication options are available for this journal, what the current article publishing charge is for an open-access route if applicable, and whether institutional agreements, funder arrangements, discounts or waivers affect the amount payable.

Do not assume that every accepted article requires an APC, and do not assume that a fee shown on an old web page is current. The publication route selected can affect licensing and access conditions. Researchers with grant or university mandates should check funder requirements before finalizing the license option.

Publication Ethics and Author Responsibilities

Ethical preparation is not separate from journal fit. Authors should ensure the manuscript reports genuine work, gives accurate credit, uses references that were actually consulted, and contains no fabricated data, manipulated images, invented citations or undisclosed text recycling. Human-participant or sensitive-data research should follow the approvals and consent requirements applicable to the study and the journal.

Authorship should reflect genuine scholarly contribution. Conflicts of interest and funding should be disclosed as required. If AI-assisted tools are used during writing or editing, authors should follow the current publisher and journal policy, protect confidential or personal data, and remain responsible for every statement, citation and analysis in the manuscript.

Useful policy references include the Elsevier publishing ethics information and the Committee on Publication Ethics guidance. Journal-specific requirements in the current Guide for Authors take precedence over general advice.

Journal-Fit and Publication-Readiness Checklist

How Contentxprtz Can Support Publication Readiness

Contentxprtz can support researchers who have completed their own scholarly work and want help presenting it clearly and responsibly. For a manuscript being considered for Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, support may include academic editing, language polishing, proofreading, manuscript structure review, journal-fit discussion, reference and citation formatting, submission-document review, cover-letter editing and reviewer-response editing.

The purpose is to improve communication and compliance while preserving the author's ideas, data, analysis and responsibility. Contentxprtz does not control editors or reviewers and cannot guarantee acceptance, publication, indexing, citation performance or a particular editorial timeline.