Tourism's Impact on Energy Efficiency: A Panel Data Analysis

Countries have continued to focus on the issues related to the energy crisis, climate change, and the transition to a low-carbon economy. Energy consumption is essential for countries' economic growth as energy provides various services for industrial, residential, and transportation sectors. However, heavy use of fossil fuels may cause many environmental problems and climate change. This dilemma forces countries to implement various policies. Policies implemented for energy efficiency improvement form one avenue to reach climate change mitigation and environmental goals, ensure sustainable economic development and transition to a low-emission regime. This study employs energy and carbon intensity as indicators to evaluate energy efficiency. As economies grow, structural shifts may occur from heavy industry to service sector. This may lead to lower energy consumption. However, the service sector may provide more job opportunities, leading to higher living standards, per capita national income, and energy consumption. Energy intensity may increase as a result of structural economic transformation. As part of the service sector, tourism may contribute to the transition to a low-carbon economy. Therefore, based on panel data techniques, this study aims to analyze the tourism sector’s impact on energy and carbon intensities using data on 23 countries over 2013-2020. Findings show the importance of energy efficiency improvements in the tourism sector to reduce economies' energy intensity and carbon intensity. In conclusion, countries should implement various policies to strengthen energy efficiency improvements in all industries while giving special attention to tourism.