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Top 10 Ethical Travel Destinations for 2012

by Katia Savchuk


View of Riga, Latvia. Source: Flickr user diasUndKompott

Now that the holidays are over, you may be looking forward to your next vacation. Consider a trip to one of the "10 Best Ethical Destinations" for 2012, according to a report from Ethical Traveler, a San Francisco-based nonprofit.
  • Argentina
  • The Bahamas
  • Chile
  • Costa Rica
  • Dominica
  • Latvia
  • Mauritius
  • Palau
  • Serbia
  • Uruguay
I was part of the research team that selected the destinations based on their recent record of protecting the environment, promoting social welfare and human rights, and creating a sustainable tourism industry. Ethical Traveler puts the list together every year in the hopes that tourists will put their dollars where their values lie.

In addition to the top 10, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (Burma) and the Republic of Cuba appear in the report as "Destinations of Interest." Although they don't make the cut as ethical travel picks, these are places undergoing rapid social and political change, and travelers have much to learn by seeing them with their own eyes.

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