Tourism Structure and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the European Union: The Role of Tourist Arrivals and Length of Stay

This study examines the relationship between tourism activity, electricity availability and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in European Union countries, with particular attention to the role of tourist arrivals and the average length of stay. Using monthly panel data for 26 EU countries over the period 2011–2024, the analysis distinguishes between domestic and foreign tourism and examines whether longer stays are associated with lower country-level GHG emissions. The empirical strategy combines clustering based on selected environmental indicators with dynamic panel estimation using the Common Correlated Effects Mean Group (CCEMG) approach, which accounts for cross-sectional dependence, heterogeneous country responses and unobserved common factors. In addition, local projections are used to examine the dynamic responses of GHG emissions to tourism-related shocks. The results show that electricity available for the internal market is positively and significantly associated with GHG emissions. Tourist arrivals have a limited and non-uniform association with emissions, whereas the length of stay shows a distinct pattern: in the full-sample model, longer stays of both domestic and foreign tourists are associated with lower GHG emissions. The estimated short-run semi-elasticities suggest that a one-day increase in the average length of stay is associated with approximately 0.8% lower emissions for foreign tourists and 0.5% lower emissions for domestic tourists. However, the results also reveal substantial cross-country heterogeneity. The findings indicate that climate-oriented tourism policies should not focus solely on tourist flows but should also consider the structure of tourism and the carbon intensity of the energy system.