Tourism, trade, energy, and economic development: Drivers of ecological footprint in the World’s top tourist destinations

Ecological sustainability, energy consumption, tourism, and economic growth interact in complex ways, a pressing concern for modern policy and study. Using data from 1999 to 2023, this study looks at the top 10 tourist destinations to see how these variables relate to their environmental impact. The primary regression analysis employs the Driscoll-Kraay Standard Errors (DKSE) approach, while Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) and Panel-Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE) are used for robustness checks. The DKSE results show that a 1 ​% increase in economic development reduces the ecological footprint by 0.775 ​%. Similarly, renewable energy minimizes the EFP by 0.140 ​%, and trade openness shows the most substantial effect, reducing it by 1.503 ​%. On the contrary, tourism and gross fixed capital formation raise EFP by 0.003 ​% and 0.905 ​%, respectively. All results are statistically significant at the 1 ​% level and verified by FGLS and PCSE robustness checks. The findings highlight the importance of sustainable trade policy, energy-efficient technology adoption, and sustainable tourist practices to reduce negative environmental consequences without sacrificing economic development. • GDP reduces the ecological footprint, suggesting economic development can decrease environmental pressure. • Tourism increases ecological footprint, emphasizing the need for sustainable tourism policies. • Renewable energy consumption and trade lowers the ecological footprint, reinforcing the role of clean energy and trade. • Gross capital formation increases ecological footprint, highlighting the impact of investment and capital formation.