Emergence: Annals and the evolving research and publishing landscape in tourism

Annals of Tourism Research is a social sciences journal, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2024. It holds a unique position in the field of tourism research and this article presents a discussion between its founding editor, Professor Jafar Jafari and one of its current co-editors, Professor Scott McCabe about its origins and emergence. The discussion covers the context and motivations for setting out the journal with a social sciences orientation, the ways that tourism research has expanded and developed as well as looks forward to the future, outlining a series of issues and topics that could be addressed in the coming decades to keep tourism research relevant and having impact on the industry and policy.