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Sustainable electricity consumption in South Africa: the impacts of tourism and economic growth

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Abstract

The current study examines sustainable electricity consumption for economic growth in a small open and tourist economy. The energy-tourism nexus is evaluated for the relationship between sustainable electricity consumption and the international tourist arrival for the South African economy. The present study leverages on annual frequency data for South Africa from 1995 to 2019 for empirical analysis using the ARDL technique. Accordingly, empirical findings indicate a significant direct connection between the sustainable electricity consumption and the international tourism arrival; the study affirms that tourism-induced energy hypothesis is valid in South Africa. However, from a policy standpoint, alternative energy efficiency mechanisms such as renewable energy systems and emancipation of current energy management capabilities are recommended in South Africa. This is necessary for sustainable eco-friendly tourism that engenders clean energy consumption for the study area. More insights into policy caveats are presented in the concluding section.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Economics Administrative and Social Sciences, Department of International Logistics and Transportation, Istanbul Gelisim University, Istanbul, 34310, Turkey

    Festus Victor Bekun

  2. Institute of Energy Policy and Research (IEPRe), Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Kajang, 43000, Malaysia

    Festus Victor Bekun

  3. Adnan Kassar School of Business, Department of Economics, Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon

    Festus Victor Bekun

  4. Department of Accounting Science, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa

    Ahmed Oluwatobi Adekunle, Adedeji Daniel Gbadebo & Joseph Olorunfemi Akande

  5. Department of Economics, Federal University of Lafia, Lafia, Nigeria

    Abdulkareem Alhassan

  6. Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences, Istinye University, 34396, Istanbul, Türkiye

    Abdulkareem Alhassan

  7. College of Energy Economics and Social Science, Institute of Energy Policy and Research, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Kajang, Malaysia

    Nora Yusma Mohamed Yusoff

Authors
  1. Festus Victor Bekun
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  2. Ahmed Oluwatobi Adekunle
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  3. Adedeji Daniel Gbadebo
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  4. Abdulkareem Alhassan
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  5. Joseph Olorunfemi Akande
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  6. Nora Yusma Mohamed Yusoff
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Contributions

Ahmed Oluwatobi ADEKUNLE: Conceptualization draft, formal analysis, methodology

Festus Victor Bekun: Conceptualization draft, investigation, and data curation

Adedeji Daniel GBADEBO: Writing—original draft

Abdulkareem ALHASSAN: Writing

Joseph Olorunfemi AKANDE: Original writing

Yusma Mohamed Yusoff: Supervision and proofreading

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Festus Victor Bekun.

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Bekun, F.V., Adekunle, A.O., Gbadebo, A.D. et al. Sustainable electricity consumption in South Africa: the impacts of tourism and economic growth. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 96301–96311 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-28856-4

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