he first issue of Anatolia: Journal of Tourism Research was published in 1990 under the title Anatolia: Monthly Journal of Tourism and Culture. The first owner of the journal was Adnan Hastürk, a graduate student in the Tourism Management Master’s Program at Hacettepe University, while the editorial responsibilities were undertaken by Nazmi Kozak, who was also a graduate student in the same program. The position of Managing Editor was assumed by Engin Başçı, who was pursuing graduate studies at the School of Press and Broadcasting of Ankara University. The journal’s masthead remained in this form for approximately one year. In the file submitted to the Press Office of the Ankara Police Department during that period, the journal’s title appeared as Anatolia: Journal of Tourism and Environment. Its headquarters were declared to be in Ankara, and its type was identified as a professional journal. In subsequent years, with the mandatory implementation of ISSN registration for journals, the publication received the ISSN number 1300-4220.

Adnan Hastürk served as the owner of the journal between 1990 and 1992 (issues 6–7). Beginning with issues 7–8 of 1992 and continuing until early 1996, Nazmi Kozak assumed ownership in addition to his editorial duties. After this period, the ownership of the journal changed relatively frequently. Cem Çağlar served as owner between the 1997 (3–4) and 1998 (3–4) issues, while Hüseyin Yıldırım held ownership for the 1999 (1–2) and 1999 (3–4) issues. Turhan Polat, owner of Turhan Bookstore, appeared in the masthead as the owner for the 2000 (1–2) issue. From 2000 onward, Hüseyin Yıldırım continued to serve as the journal’s owner. Throughout these changes, Nazmi Kozak continuously fulfilled the roles of both editor and managing editor.

The Journal’s Title

Between 1990 and 1991, the journal was titled Anatolia: Monthly Journal of Tourism and Culture. In 1991, its title was changed to Anatolia: Monthly Journal of Tourism, Environment and Culture. In the September–October 1991 issue, the journal underwent another name change and became Anatolia: Journal of Tourism and Environmental Culture. Beginning in March 1995, the journal adopted the title Anatolia: Journal of Tourism Research, under which it has continued to be published.

Publication Frequency

Anatolia began its publishing life in 1990 as a monthly journal. From the November–December 1991 issue until the November–December 1993 issue, it was published bimonthly. From the January–June 1994 issue until the September–December 1997 issue, it continued publication as a quarterly journal. Since 1998, the journal has been published biannually and continues in this format today.

Sections

From its inception, the journal included various sections in addition to scholarly articles. These sections included: Research Notes, Brief Notes, Recreation Studies, Commentary of the Month, From the Editor, Information Centers, Books Received, Dossier, Letters to the Editor, English Article Index, Turkish Article Index, Conference Notes, Article Reviews, Tourism History, Gastronomy Reviews, Readers’ Letters, Selected Translated Articles, Interviews from the Sector, Thesis Abstracts, and From the History of Turkish Tourism.

The 25-year publication history of Anatolia can be divided into two main periods: the non-refereed period and the refereed period.

The first period covers the years 1990–1997, while the second encompasses 1998–2014. The first period (1990–1997) may itself be divided into two sub-periods. The first of these is the 1990–1994 period, whose defining characteristic was the journal’s effort to establish itself, institutionalize its publication policy, determine its direction, and ultimately attain a recognized position. The first three years of this period were largely marked by experimentation and searching. The years 1993 and 1994 were when the journal began to find its path.

The second major period (1998–2014) may also be divided into two sub-periods. The first spans the years 1998–2002 and is characterized by Anatolia’s transition to a refereed journal and the gradual institutionalization of peer-reviewed publishing practices. Becoming a refereed journal led to significant developments both editorially and among authors. It took approximately five years for tourism scholars and contributors to fully embrace the norms of peer-reviewed academic publishing.

The years between 2003 and 2014 represent a period during which the journal’s practices became firmly institutionalized and during which Anatolia began to play a significant role in shaping Turkish tourism literature and research through its initiatives. After 2003, Anatolia assumed functions extending beyond those of a conventional academic journal. Activities organized under the title Anatolia: Journal of Tourism Research during these years included the Academic Tourism Education Search Conference, Anatolia Research Methods Seminars, Interdisciplinary Tourism Research Congress, the Second Eğirdir Tourism Symposium, the Interdisciplinary Tourism Research Conference, the Graduate Tourism Students Congress, the Recreation Studies Congress, Service Awards for Tourism Education, the International Tourism Cartoons Competition, and the World Conference for Graduate Research in Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure.