Is travel to Costa Rica ethical?
Costa Rica regained its spot on the list of top ethical travel destinations in 2011, after being left off last year due to its booming sex tourism industry.
According to the organization that drafts the list, San Francisco-based Earth Island Institute, Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla has taken important steps to curtail human trafficking, thus addressing a contributing factor to sex tourism.
“While there remains a great deal of work to be done, particularly to stem the country’s sex tourism industry, we applaud the progress,” the organization wrote in its annual report. “Costa Rica should see this as an encouragement to step up efforts to combat human trafficking.”
The list is compiled each year by considering a number of factors, including a country’s level of environmental protection, social welfare and other human rights issues. The institute reviews World Bank and Millennium Challenge Corporation databases to identify top performers, and then conducts a more focused investigation on actions governments have taken to improve.
“No country, anywhere, is perfect,” report co-author Natalie Lefevre said in a statement. “This report showcases the most ethical developing countries, based on dozens of sources and extensive research. But no place gets perfect marks in all aspects.”
Other countries to make the list include Argentina, Barbados, Chile, Dominica, Latvia, Lithuania, Palau, Poland and Uruguay.
Ethical Traveler’s executive director, Jeff Greenwald, said his organization creates the list to inspire travel to countries “that care about human rights and the environment.”
“We sincerely hope that travelers will take this list into account while planning their 2011 travels,” he said.
You may be interested

Costa Rica celebrates U.S. support of global environmental plan
Alejandro Zúñiga - January 27, 2021U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed an Executive Order that, in part, commits the country to taking bold steps…

International communities commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day
The Tico Times - January 27, 2021Today marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau by Soviet troops on…

Best Costa Rica Movie of 2021: El Pajaro de Fuego
Tico Times - January 27, 2021While Costa Rica is a favorite destination for many international film stars, it is not well known for its local…