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Four authors, including the current and founding editors, have collaborated to write this editorial that marks the 40th anniversary of Annals of Tourism Research. It has three objectives. The first is to look back and encourage reflection on the last 40years of its development. This is done by recounting the twists and turns of the history and transformation of the journal as well as by analyzing the trends and patterns of knowledge formation. The second objective is to look sideways and examine developments in the broader social sciences of which Annals is part of. Finally the issues raised by the first two objectives provide the stimulus for a brief discussion about the future of the journal and the directions and challenges for tourism social science knowledge.