CO(2) Emissions and tourism in developed and less developed countries

Abstract

Tourism is a major contributor to CO2 emissions and therefore to climate change. In this article, we look at the relationships between CO2 emissions and tourism in the context of both developed and less developed countries. We utilize a STIRPAT approach applied to a balanced panel data of developed and less developed countries for the period from 1998 to 2006. The results show that tourism contributes significantly to CO2 emissions in both less developed and developed countries. However, the impact in developed countries is larger than in less developed countries. Tourism should find sustainable development paths involving less CO2 emissions in the production and consumption of tourist services.