ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF ESG FACTORS ON GREEN TOURISM DEVELOPMENT: EVIDENCE FROM UZBEKISTAN

Abstract

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles have become an essential framework for evaluating sustainable economic development. However, empirical evidence regarding their contribution to green tourism development remains limited, particularly in emerging economies. This study examines the impact of ESG dimensions on green tourism development in Uzbekistan using panel data from fourteen regions covering the period 2014–2025. The research constructs a Green Tourism Development Index (GTDI) through the Entropy Weight Method (EWM) and applies Panel Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE), System GMM, and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to estimate the relationships between ESG factors and sustainable tourism performance. The findings demonstrate that environmental governance exerts the strongest positive influence on green tourism development, followed by governance quality and social sustainability. Governance quality significantly moderates the relationship between environmental performance and tourism competitiveness. The proposed integrated ESG-GTDI framework contributes to sustainable tourism literature by introducing a multidimensional assessment model suitable for developing countries. The findings provide practical implications for policymakers seeking to accelerate green transformation in tourism through ESG-oriented strategies.