What Are the Top Ten Ethical Destinations?

Namibia

Ecotourism is all the rage, with people vacationing in those places that help preserve the environment and offer sustainable hotels and whatnot, but what about visiting countries that also strive to improve social welfare and human rights alongside the environment? The Ethical Traveler is on the lookout for just that, and has scoured the stats to see which developing countries are working hard to better themselves and came up with the top 10 best ethical destinations for 2009-2010.

The idea is that socially conscious do-gooder types can recognize and aid in these countries' efforts by spending their vacation bucks there. Find out which hot-spot developing countries are working to advance their people and environment, after the jump.

The Top Ten Ethical Travel destinations, in alphabetical order, are:
· Argentina
· Belize
· Chile
· Ghana
· Lithuania
· Namibia
· Poland
· Seychelles
· South Africa
· Suriname

The Ethical Traveler admitted that the list isn't perfect; for example, Belize, Namibia and Seychelles all criminalize homosexuality. But Argentina got props for vowing to reach zero net deforestation, Seychelles was recognized for being a world leader in sustainable tourism, and Lithuania and Poland were hailed for their low infant mortality rates.

On the flip side, Costa Rica, which appeared in the 2008 list, was dropped like Conan this year because it's become notorious for sex tourism and child prostitution. Bolivia and Bulgaria also got the boot after their 2008 list appearance for child trafficking and corruption problems.

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[Photo: Rui Ornelas]

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