Impact of coastal tourism demand on fisheries industry sustainability: A suggested framework for blue growth

Abstract

AbstractIntense use of coastal resources and construction of new marinas to expand the tourist industry might result in developing water and marine environmental quality due to pollution, noise, and species disturbance, harming aquatic ecosystems and fisheries. By considering the roles played by fisheries output, tourist development, energy input, economic growth, governance, and population density during 1990–2022, this research aims to explore the dynamic influence of tourism development on the sustainability of the fisheries sector in 27 European nations. The findings of this study, which used the new Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR) with fixed variables, revealed a considerable adverse impact of energy consumption and tourist growth on the sustainability of fisheries across the EU27 area. In particular, the findings show that across all quantiles, the considerable adverse impact of tourist development on fisheries sustainability is more substantial in EU13 developing nations than in EU14 developed countries. At the same time, the findings show that the EU14 developed nations had a more significant negative impact on fisheries sustainability than the EU13 developing countries at the most recent quantiles. The relationship between governance (across all quantiles) and economic growth in the EU27 was also favorably significant. Notably, the findings show that the EU14 developed countries have a more substantial beneficial impact on fisheries sustainability than the EU13 developing nations. At medium quantiles, it was discovered that population density increased fisheries sustainability. Results show that population density has a more significant beneficial impact on fisheries sustainability in EU13 developing nations than in EU14 developed countries. To safeguard marine ecosystems and achieve sustainable blue growth, our results provide policymakers insight into how to support coastal tourism development in EU14 and EU13 nations using effective and environmentally friendly resources and technology.