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CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
This policy explains how TOBA: Journal of Tourism, Hospitality, and Destination, published by Yayasan Literasi Sains Indonesia, handles competing interests that may affect the reporting, the evaluation, or the publication of research. The terms conflict of interest and competing interest have the same meaning in this policy.
The policy applies to authors, editors, reviewers, and the journal itself.
Policy at a Glance
| Who | What is required | When |
|---|---|---|
| Authors | Disclose every interest that is relevant to the work. Provide a competing interests statement and a funding statement. | With the manuscript, in the Acknowledgments. |
| Editors | Disclose relevant interests. Do not handle or decide a manuscript if your impartiality may be compromised. | Before accepting an assignment, and promptly if an interest arises later. |
| Reviewers | Disclose relevant interests. Decline or withdraw if the conflict disqualifies you. | Before accepting an invitation, and promptly if an interest arises later. |
| The journal | Assess each declared interest, and keep commercial considerations away from editorial decisions. | Throughout the editorial process. |
Declare → Assess → Safeguard → Decide
1What Is a Competing Interest?
A competing interest is any relationship, circumstance, or activity that could influence, or could appear to influence, how research is conducted, reported, reviewed, or edited.
Disclosure is a protective step. It is not an accusation, and declaring an interest does not mean that bias or misconduct has occurred.
2Interests That Should Be Disclosed
| Type of interest | Examples |
|---|---|
| Financial relationships | Employment, consultancy, honoraria, shares, patents, royalties, or other commercial benefits, for example from a hotel group, a travel agency, an online travel platform, a tourism board, or a developer of tourism technology. |
| Funding and sponsorship | Research funding, paid expert work, or the involvement of a sponsor in the study, for example a ministry or a regional tourism office, a foundation, a company, or an industry association. |
| Personal and professional relationships | Close personal, supervisory, collaborative, or professional ties with authors, reviewers, or editors. |
| Interest in the subject of the study | Having designed, owned, managed, or promoted the destination, the business, the program, the brand, or the tool that is evaluated, or studying your own employer, business, or institution. |
| Editorial and journal ties | Editorial appointments or other ties with the journal that may require independent handling. |
Ordinary scholarly disagreement is not, by itself, treated as a disqualifying conflict.
3Responsibilities of Authors
3.1 Disclosure
Authors must disclose every interest that is relevant to the submitted work, including the interests of any coauthor.
3.2 Competing interests statement
The corresponding author prepares one competing interests statement for the whole manuscript. If no competing interests exist, the statement must say so.
3.3 Funding statement
Authors must also provide a funding statement. It names the sources of funding, the funding organizations, and the grant numbers, and it states whether the funder had any role in the study. The roles to consider are the design of the study, the collection and analysis of the data, and the preparation of the manuscript.
Both statements are required. A funding statement does not replace a competing interests statement, and an acknowledgment of support does not replace either of them (see Authorship and Contributorship).
3.4 Where to place the statements
The manuscript template has no separate sections for these statements. Place both of them as the final paragraphs of the Acknowledgments, which come after the Conclusion and before the References. Include the Acknowledgments even when there is nothing else to acknowledge (see Manuscript Preparation and Author Guidelines).
3.5 Sample statements
| Situation | Sample wording |
|---|---|
| No competing interests | The authors declare no competing interests. |
| Competing interest declared | The first author is employed by [name of organization], which operates the hotel that is examined in this study. The other authors declare no competing interests. |
| Funding received | This research was funded by [name of funder] under grant number [number]. The funder had no role in the design of the study, in the collection and analysis of the data, or in the preparation of the manuscript. |
| No funding received | This research received no external funding. |
4Editors and Reviewers
4.1 Editors
| Topic | Rule |
|---|---|
| Disclosure | Editors disclose any relevant interest before they accept an assignment, and they report an interest that arises later promptly. |
| Impartiality | An editor whose impartiality may be compromised must not handle or decide on that manuscript. |
| Manuscripts of editors | When a manuscript is submitted by an editor or by a member of the editorial board, it is handled by an editor who is not involved in the work. The editor or board member who submitted it does not take part in its evaluation or in the decision. |
4.2 Reviewers
| Topic | Rule |
|---|---|
| Disclosure | Reviewers disclose any relevant interest before they accept an invitation, and they report an interest that arises later promptly. |
| Disqualifying conflicts | A reviewer who has a disqualifying conflict must decline the review or withdraw from it. Examples are a close personal or supervisory relationship with an author, a recent collaboration with an author, and a competing interest in the subject of the study. |
| Double blind review | A reviewer who can identify the authors from the manuscript, and who has a conflict with them, informs the editor and withdraws. See the Peer Review Process. |
4.3 Handling of declared conflicts
When a conflict is declared, an editor who is not affected by it decides whether safeguards are sufficient or whether the assignment should go to someone else.
5Assessment and Late or Missing Disclosure
Each declared interest is assessed for its relevance and for its possible effect on the work or on the editorial process. The possible outcomes are as follows:
| Outcome | Description |
|---|---|
| Disclosure published | The disclosure is published with the article. |
| Independent assessment | The journal asks for an independent assessment of the work. |
| Replacement | The involved editor or reviewer is replaced. |
Disclosures that are missing, incomplete, inaccurate, or late are considered in their context. Material concerns are handled under the Publication Ethics, Allegations of Misconduct, and Correction and Retraction policies.
6Scope of This Policy
| Topic | Where it is covered |
|---|---|
| Research and its assessment | This policy covers interests that are connected with research and with its assessment. |
| Author fees | The fees that apply to authors are described on the Author Fees page. |
| Ownership and management | The ownership and the management of the journal are described on the Ownership and Management page. |
| Commercial considerations | Commercial considerations do not influence editorial decisions, as stated in the Publication Ethics statement. |
Related Policies
| Topic | Policy |
|---|---|
| Ethical standards | Publication Ethics |
| Review of manuscripts | Peer Review Process |
| Authorship | Authorship and Contributorship |
| Misconduct | Allegations of Misconduct |
| Corrections and retractions | Correction and Retraction |
| Generative AI | Generative AI Policies |
| Preparation of manuscripts | Manuscript Preparation and Author Guidelines |
Questions About This Policy
Questions about this policy, or about a specific disclosure, can be sent to the editorial office at tobajurnal@gmail.com or to the publisher at jurnal@literasisains.id.
TOBA: Journal of Tourism, Hospitality, and Destination • Conflicts of Interest
