Waste Generation Flows and Tourism Growth: A STIRPAT Model for Mallorca

Several studies have examined the relationship between environmental degradation and population growth. However, most of them do not take into account the difference between local population and tourist arrivals, which is considerably important for mature tourist destinations. This article contributes to the literature by separating these two groups within the framework of IPAT-based models to measure the impact of tourist arrivals in terms of municipal solid waste generation for Mallorca. The model leads to a stochastic differential equations system, which shows that this mature tourist destination has higher population elasticity than industrial economies. Moreover, the model allowed us to measure the elasticity of substitution between lower- and higher-income tourists. Results showed that an increase of 1% on tourist arrivals growth rate would generate an increase in waste disposal generation of 1.25%. Furthermore, an increase of tourist expenditures by 1% on the destination would lead to an increase of municipal solid waste generation of 0.51%.