Examining tourism-induced environmental Kuznets Curves in South Asia

Abstract This paper analyzes the non-linear tourism-environmental degradation nexus in the selected South Asian countries using a modified Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) framework. While previous literature has shown inconclusive results, this paper applies the Cross-Sectional Autoregressive Dist...

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Main Authors: Sakib Bin Amin, Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary, Fardin Anwod Ayshi, Farhan Khan, Nazia Zaman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer 2025-04-01
Series:Discover Sustainability
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-025-00974-8
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author Sakib Bin Amin
Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary
Fardin Anwod Ayshi
Farhan Khan
Nazia Zaman
author_facet Sakib Bin Amin
Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary
Fardin Anwod Ayshi
Farhan Khan
Nazia Zaman
author_sort Sakib Bin Amin
collection DOAJ
description Abstract This paper analyzes the non-linear tourism-environmental degradation nexus in the selected South Asian countries using a modified Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) framework. While previous literature has shown inconclusive results, this paper applies the Cross-Sectional Autoregressive Distributed Lag (CS-ARDL) method to examine tourism-induced EKCs from 1990 to 2021. Findings reveal a valid N-shaped EKC for the selected South Asian countries. Country-level estimates show that Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka exhibit N-shaped tourism-induced EKC. However, Nepal and Bhutan show inverse tourism-induced U-shaped EKC. The paper suggests policy measures to address the tourism-environmental degradation nexus, including promoting private sustainable investment, enacting eco-friendly policies, raising public awareness, and encouraging sustainable tourism in the region.
format Article
id doaj-art-952a687caed84ab38ef5a76aaa4310fe
institution DOAJ
issn 2662-9984
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher Springer
record_format Article
series Discover Sustainability
spelling doaj-art-952a687caed84ab38ef5a76aaa4310fe2025-08-20T03:09:12ZengSpringerDiscover Sustainability2662-99842025-04-016111710.1007/s43621-025-00974-8Examining tourism-induced environmental Kuznets Curves in South AsiaSakib Bin Amin0Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary1Fardin Anwod Ayshi2Farhan Khan3Nazia Zaman4North South UniversityTOKAI Research Institute for Environment and Sustainability (TRIES), Tokai UniversityNorth South UniversityNorth South UniversityNorth South UniversityAbstract This paper analyzes the non-linear tourism-environmental degradation nexus in the selected South Asian countries using a modified Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) framework. While previous literature has shown inconclusive results, this paper applies the Cross-Sectional Autoregressive Distributed Lag (CS-ARDL) method to examine tourism-induced EKCs from 1990 to 2021. Findings reveal a valid N-shaped EKC for the selected South Asian countries. Country-level estimates show that Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka exhibit N-shaped tourism-induced EKC. However, Nepal and Bhutan show inverse tourism-induced U-shaped EKC. The paper suggests policy measures to address the tourism-environmental degradation nexus, including promoting private sustainable investment, enacting eco-friendly policies, raising public awareness, and encouraging sustainable tourism in the region.https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-025-00974-8TourismEnvironmentCO2Inverse U-shaped EKCN-shaped EKCSouth Asia
spellingShingle Sakib Bin Amin
Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary
Fardin Anwod Ayshi
Farhan Khan
Nazia Zaman
Examining tourism-induced environmental Kuznets Curves in South Asia
Discover Sustainability
Tourism
Environment
CO2
Inverse U-shaped EKC
N-shaped EKC
South Asia
title Examining tourism-induced environmental Kuznets Curves in South Asia
title_full Examining tourism-induced environmental Kuznets Curves in South Asia
title_fullStr Examining tourism-induced environmental Kuznets Curves in South Asia
title_full_unstemmed Examining tourism-induced environmental Kuznets Curves in South Asia
title_short Examining tourism-induced environmental Kuznets Curves in South Asia
title_sort examining tourism induced environmental kuznets curves in south asia
topic Tourism
Environment
CO2
Inverse U-shaped EKC
N-shaped EKC
South Asia
url https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-025-00974-8
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