Unveiling the linkage between hydropower growth and tourism sustainability in EU27 region: An empirical analysis

Abstract

AbstractHydropower comes with a lot of inestimable values. It is indubitably an eco‐system‐friendly resource that causes no harm to the natural state of the environment. This creates a better alternative to the heat energy radiating the earth. It is a cost‐efficient source of energy and it offers unique opportunities to have cost‐efficient tourism sector management in the EU region centers. The primary objective of this research is to determine the effect of hydropower output on tourism sustainability in the European Union (EU 27) states from 1990 to 2021. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) was adopted for this study. Findings from this study show that a significant increase in the tourism sector growth can occur in EU14 emerging economies using hydropower output and economic growth variables than in EU13 emerging economies. In addition, among other variables captured in this study, population density and good governance were seen to have a higher level of contribution to tourism sector growth in EU14 emerging economies than in EU13 emerging economies. It was also found that a significant increase in the tourism sector growth could be achieved in the EU13 emerging economies due to the high consumption of fossil fuels than in EU14 emerging economies. This finding implies that the EU27 could achieve sustainability in their tourism sector significantly through the substitution of fossil fuel output with hydropower. This will foster the attainment of Energy Union aims by 2030. It is also a good way to combat climate change and environmental pollution. Using the pooled mean group (PMG), mean group (MG), and dynamic fixed effect (DFE) methods, the projected calculations were seen to be valid. The study, therefore, recommended that EU27 countries should prioritize hydropower in their pursuit of renewable energy production as this will help them to achieve sustainability in their tourism sector and become secure in their energy need now and in the future time. The government, Politicians, and all other concerned stakeholders in the EU27 countries should strive towards replacing fossil fuels with hydropower. This will help to ensure sustainability in their tourism sector and there will be security in the energy sector of these EU27 Countries.