The nexus between tourism, economic growth, and environmental pollution at a regional level in Spain: a new CS-ARDL approach

Abstract

ABSTRACT Over recent decades, tourism has undergone rapid growth, contributing to economic growth. Moreover, recent studies have included environmental variables in their analyses, although they tend to use a country-level approach despite the fact that tourism development takes place at a regional level. This study analyzes the relationship between tourism, economic growth, and the environment in Spain during 2004–2021, using an innovative approach that analyzes the data at a regional level. The hypothesis is that tourism affects economic growth and the environment. Using econometric analysis through CS-ARDL and causality analysis, the short- and long-term relationships of the three analyzed variables have been identified, adjusting these estimates according to the presence of cross-dependency between the regions. The results verified the positive effects of tourism on economic growth, and the adverse effects of carbon dioxide emissions on tourism. Theoretical and policy implications are suggested, and limitations are discussed.