Examining the role of tourism industry in green economic and environmental performance: does structural change matter in Asia?

Abstract

Tourism has become an increasingly significant contributor to economic growth in Asia. However, the rapid expansion of the tourism industry has also raised concerns about its impact on the environment and economic sustainability. Meanwhile, the structural transformation of economies in Asia has also been a major factor in shaping the region's environmental and economic performance. Thus, the present study aims to explore the impact of the tourism industry and structural change on green economic and environmental performance in Asia. Limited empirical evidence exists on the impact of tourism industry and structural change on CO2 emissions and green growth. The objective of this current study is to examine how tourism industry and structural change impact green economic and environmental performance over the period 1993 to 2020. For analyzing short- and long-run results across different quantiles, we have employed a nonlinear QARDL model that can provide estimates across different quantiles. The findings of the CO2 emissions model imply that long-term improvements in tourism and structural changes significantly reduce CO2 emissions. In contrast, the long-term negative changes in tourism and structural changes increase CO2 emissions. In the green growth model, long-term improvements in tourism and structural changes significantly improve green growth; however, the long-term decline in tourism and structural changes significantly reduce green growth. Moreover, the control variable of ICT reduces CO2 emissions and improves green growth, and energy consumption increases CO2 emissions and reduces green growth.