Tourism and energy poverty: a panel approach for developing economies

Purpose This study aims to examine the relationship between international tourism development and energy poverty in developing economies. Design/methodology/approach The analysis is based on a panel of 54 developing countries over the period 2000–2021. The empirical strategy uses a system generalized method of moments approach to address endogeneity and unobserved heterogeneity. Findings The results show a significant negative relationship between tourism revenues and all indicators of energy access, including electricity access, rural electrification and access to clean cooking technologies. Originality/value This study provides new empirical evidence on the tourism–energy poverty nexus in developing countries and highlights that tourism development does not necessarily improve energy access.