The relationship between tourism, economic growth and environmental sustainability: empirical evidence from major tourist destinations

The positive impact of tourism on the economy of countries and their increasing commitment to this practice has led to numerous studies in the literature, from the emergence of the TLGH at the beginning of the century to the present day. However, destinations are no strangers to the negative externalities generated by tourism. These negative externalities respond to a harmful impact on the environment, which, together with the increasing concern of governments for the environment, has also aroused the interest of the research field. Therefore, this study, using a technique that is not widely used, focuses on the analysis of tourism, economic growth and the environment in those countries that have been part of the top 10 tourism countries during the period 1995-2023. The analysis reveals a variety of causality results. Finally, policy recommendations for improvement are made on the basis of these results.