The environmental impact of tourism in E7 economies: Testing the Environmental Kuznets Curve

E7 countries, characterized by rapidly expanding tourism sectors, encounter intricate yet overlapping environmental challenges. While economic development and tourism activities stimulate economic performance, they also result in significant externalities, including increased energy consumption and waste production. This study examines the determinants of carbon emissions in E7 countries, focusing on economic growth, tourism, renewable energy adoption, trade, and urbanization. Using a fixed-effects panel regression model covering 1995-2022, the findings confirm the validity of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, revealing that economic growth initially exacerbates environmental degradation but reduces it after surpassing a per capita income threshold. Tourism and urbanization were found to contribute significantly to emissions, while renewable energy usage demonstrated a strong mitigating effect. These results highlight the critical importance of sustainable tourism policies, clean energy investments, and low-carbon urban infrastructure to balance economic growth with environmental preservation in emerging economies.