EVALUATING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN AIR TRANSPORT, ECONOMY, TOURISM, AND POLLUTION IN THE BALKANS

This study aims to investigate the effect of air transportation, tourism, and economic growth on environmental pollution. The impact of tourism, economic growth, air transportation, and carbon emissions (as a surrogate for air pollution) on ten Balkan nations from 1995 to 2020 is investigated in this study. Long-term panel autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) projections reveal that CO2 emissions are affected by 0.22%, 0.32%, and -0.34% for every 1% increase in air transportation, economic growth, and tourism. Granger causality analysis identifies four significant causal pathways: (1) a unilateral relationship between CO2 emissions and air transportation; (2) a unilateral relationship between CO2 emissions and economic growth; (3) a unilateral relationship between tourism and air transportation; and (4) a unilateral relationship between economic growth and tourism. These findings shape climate policy in the countries investigated and affect people worldwide. Policymakers should incentivize eco-friendly housing and litter-free tourists to reduce tourism's environmental impact. Infrastructure expenditures should also prioritize low-carbon aviation and renewable energy. Strategic economic planning requires that growth and decarbonization targets match. Renewable energy and circular economic ideas will promote green growth. These initiatives may balance prosperity and environmental protection, putting the Balkans and other regions on the path to strong, low-carbon economies.