Tourism-induced pollutant emissions in Mediterranean countries: Evidence from panel causality analysis

Abstract

There are ample studies that document the tourism-led growth for single countries and/or a specific region. The nexus on international tourist arrival-induced pollutant emissions and energy consumption has been ongoing in the related literature. This is pertinent, given its inherent implications for environmental sustainability. This study explores the growth impact of international tourist arrivals on quality of the environment in terms of a causality relationship for 16 selected Mediterranean countries by a multivariate framework; this is based on tourism-led growth and the tourism-induced pollutant emissions model for annual data from 1995 to 2014. Our model, therefore, explores the dynamic causal links between tourism, growth, energy, and the environment. We employ the panel causality technique (Emirmahmutoglu and Kose 2011) that allows for heterogeneity and correlations across cross-sections. The data shows correlation among international tourism, economic growth, energy consumption, and pollutant emission. The findings from the causality analysis support the evidence on tourism-induced pollutant emissions and energy consumption as well as the validity of the tourism-led growth hypothesis. The findings also suggest that international tourism is a catalyst for energy consumption and economic growth, which translates into pollutant emissions, implying insightful policy prescriptions. © 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd