This empirical study uses a structural VAR model to investigate the links among oil price shocks, tourism sector and economic growth in four European Mediterranean countries. Disentangling oil price shocks into three categories, as suggested by Hamilton (2009a, 2009b) and Kilian (2009), and using monthly data for the period 2000:1e2010:12, we find evidence to suggest that demand side oil price shocks appear to exert an impact on tourism and the economy, whereas supply-side oil price shocks do not. To be more explicit, with reference to demand-side shocks, we observe that aggregate demand shocks have a significantly positive influence on
tourism income and the economy (either directly or indirectly); nevertheless, this effect is not contemporaneously but it comes with a lag. On the other hand, oil specific demand shocks exercise a significant negative impact on tourism sector equity returns and. This effect is only contemporaneous, though. Turning to the supply-side shocks, the absence of impact on both tourism industry and economy can be explained by the fact that changes in oil production do not significantly affect oil prices, as suggested by Kilian and Park (2009). Previous research has illustrated a negative effect of oil prices on the tourism sector (see, Becken, 2011; Becken & Lennox, 2012;Yeoman et al., 2007). Nonetheless, these past findings give an incomplete picture, as they do not consider the origin of oil price changes. Overall, this study signifies the importance of the origin of oil price shocks in this area of research. The empirical results
provide evidence to suggest that different oil price shocks trigger different types of responses. Future research should concentrate on the effects of oil price shocks on tourism and economic growth for oil-exporting countries. In addition, it is essential that further studies examine these relationships in a time-varying environment. Finally, further research needs to be undertaken with respect to the effect of oil price shocks on different tourism segments.