Assessing the linkages among tourism industry, economic output, energy consumption, and environmental quality

Abstract

The prior empirical studies indicate torusim sector as an engine of economic growth worldwide. However, the activities linked with the tourism industries create several environmental problems as they require massive energy consumption. This study empirically explores the influence of tourism sub-sectors, i.e., accommodation (ACC), travel (TSP), food and drinks services (FDS), and shopping and entertainment (SAE) on the environmental quality in China measured by different greenhouse gasses emission and air pollutants. The bound testing ARDL approach has been employed to analyze the relationships for the data from 2001 to 2019. We also account for globalization (GLBN), economic growth (RGDP), and energy consumption (ENG), to normalize the tourism-linked sub-sectors’ environmental effects. The findings revealed that greenhouse gas emissions, especially N2O and CH4, are highly caused by FDS activities related to tourism, whereas CO2 emission is mostly caused by the TSP sector in long-term. Likewise, FDS is the highest causing factor of air pollutants except for PM2.5, and the SAE sector is highly responsible for N2O and CH4 in long-term. Furthermore, all the tourism-related sub-sectors are positively affecting economic growth and energy consumption in long-term, while TSP and SAE sectors contribute higher to the energy consumption and economic growth, respectively. Surprisingly, globalization has been seen to be a significant cause of decreasing greenhouse gases and air pollutants. Finally, the causality analysis outcomes revealed that most of the tourism sub-sectors are significantly causing air pollutants and greenhouse gases. As evidenced by the empirical results, numerous policy measures are proposed for policy initiatives for China to promote its environmental quality.