Uncovering the linkage among tourism diversification, economic development, energy consumption, population density, technology, and carbon emissions: empirical evidence from New Zealand

Although the influence of tourism on the environment is a frequently studied topic, examining the impact of tourism diversification on carbon emissions is a recent area of research. In this context, this study examines the impacts of tourism diversification, income, energy consumption, research and development expenditures, and population density on carbon emissions in New Zealand for the period 1981–2020 using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag approach. The results illustrate that income, lower tourism diversification, and energy consumption increase carbon emissions, while an upsurge in population density and research and development expenditures minimizes environmental degradation. According to the findings, New Zealand’s intensification of tourism in certain areas increases the environmental damage. It is therefore recommended that the New Zealand government promote tourism diversification and research and development expenditures to achieve environmental sustainability goals.