Could tourism investments influence financial inclusion in the European Union countries?

This investigation approaches the bidirectional relationship between tourism investments and financial inclusion. Principal component analysis was employed to obtain the financial inclusion index, and the panel vector autoregressive model was applied to analyze a panel of 25 European Union countries from 2005 to 2020. The empirical findings indicate a bidirectional and negative relationship between tourism capital investment and financial inclusion. Additionally, the outcomes reveal that both tourism capital investment and ICT diffusion positively affect economic growth and that financial inclusion negatively affects the economic growth of EU countries. In turn, economic growth promotes financial inclusion. Furthermore, financial inclusion enhances ICT dissemination, while tourism capital investment is linked to decreased ICT expansion. These outcomes indicate that policymakers and financial institutions must navigate this intricate landscape, devising strategies that bolster financial inclusion and support the tourism sector rejuvenation, recognizing the pivotal role both play in fostering a resilient and inclusive economy.