Aviation Pollution, Tourism, and Economic Development: A Study of the EKC Hypothesis at the Regional Level

Abstract

The study aims to revisit the relationship between aviation pollution, tourism, and economic development through the lens of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), particularly at the regional level, using New Zealand as a case study. We are the first to estimate aviation pollution at regional airports in New Zealand and use them as proxy for the regional pollution in an EKC setting. Our findings provide evidence of an EKC at New Zealand regions, indicating that tourism and economic development contribute to the long-term regional environment improvement. This highlights the necessity for environment policy to be tailored at a regional level, rather than solely at the national scale. Additionally, our research introduces a novel approach to EKC studies by incorporating new pollution estimations, which enhances the understanding of regional environmental dynamics. Among others, we discovered that that the sustainable tourism policy has, and will, work well in New Zealand. This study underscores the importance of considering regional factors in environmental policymaking and offers insights that could inform future strategies for balancing economic growth with environmental sustainability.