The Nexus Between Tourism, Energy Consumption and SDG 7: A Panel Data Analysis of APEC Economies.

This study explores the nexus between tourism development, renewable energy consumption, environmental performance, and Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) for 20 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies from 2015 to 2024. It uses a balanced panel data set using multiple econometric tests such as cross-sectional dependence, slope heterogeneity, unit root and panel cointegration followed by FMOLS, DOLS and PMG-ARDL model estimations. The results indicate a long-run equilibrium relation among these variables. It further reveals that GDP from tourism and foreign tourist arrivals negatively affect the performance of SDG 7 whereas tourism employment and population growth positively affect the development of sustainable energy under SDG 7. The report points to the importance of boosting sustainable tourism, expanding the use of renewable energy and improving environmental governance to enable sustainable development and clean energy transition.