Thriving Sex Tourism Industry Bumps Costa
Rica from List of World’s Most Ethical
Destinations
By Amy Westervelt, The Faster Times
When travel magazines and sites come out
with top ten “eco” lists they’re usually the
top ten places who did a good job marketing
themselves as green. Okay, maybe that’s too
harsh.
They are usually places that are actually
doing things responsibly because no editor
wants to get a stack of hate mail or a bunch
of shitty online comments from the eco crowd
for assisting a resort or destination in “greenwashing.”
Ethical Traveler’s list of the most ethical
travel destinations, however, is rooted in
research, cross-referenced to various
credible sources and includes not just the
environmental performance of various
countries, but also their social and
political actions.
You know how I can tell these guys did their
homework? Costa Rica isn’t on the list. You
read correctly, Costa “the capital of
eco-tourism” Rica ain’t on the list … mostly
because of its booming underage sex trade.
“In 2008, we strongly encouraged travelers
to bring their commerce to Costa Rica - a
country top rated by many important
indicators,” the report’s authors write.
“Unfortunately, World Vision now considers
Costa Rica among the world’s most notorious
destinations for sexual predators, with an
unusually large number of sex tourism venues
in operation. According to Casa Alianza,
more than 3,000 girls and young women work
in San Jose’s 300 brothels.
Now rivaling Thailand and the Philippines as
the world’s leading sex tourism destination,
Costa Rica is credited with having the
region’s largest child prostitution problem
and has thus been flagged by INTERPOL, as
the country is fast becoming the hemispheric
capital of sex tourism. It is for this
reason that we were unable to recommend
Costa Rica as an Ethical Destination.”
Another surprisingly absent destination?
Bhutan, the country best known for its
measurement of Gross National Happiness.
Surely it must be the most ethical place in
the world, no? Not so much. “Despite its
sublime natural beauty and extraordinary
commitment to preserving the environment,
the highly nationalistic kingdom is still
plagued by human rights issues,” the report
reads. “These concerns include the fate of
more than 100,000 Bhutanese of Nepalese
descent, who were expelled from country in
the early 1990s and still live in refugee
camps along the Bhutan/West Bengal/Nepal
border.”
As for those that did make the list, there
are some surprises there, too, but all come
with detailed explanations. At first I
thought Argentina was #1 on the list two
years in a row, but then I realized they
were listed alphabetically. Either way, it
still made me raise an eyebrow and think,
“Argentina, don’t they have a lot of
corruption problems?” Yes, indeed they do.
But the country also has committed to a goal
of net-zero deforestation and is the world
leader in voluntary greenhouse gas emissions
reductions.
And Ghana, a new addition to the list, has,
according to Ethical Traveler, “an
impressive commitment to genuine democracy,
as well as a growing culture of
sustainability, environmental consciousness
and grassroots efforts towards responsibly
improving Ghana for Ghanaians and tourists
alike.”
I’ve got to be honest, ethics aren’t the
first thing I think of when I’m planning a
trip. That said, having discovered this
list, I will probably consult it next time
I’ve got my options narrowed down. And
frankly, Bhutan and Costa Rica just slid a
few slots on my “where to go next” list.
Here’s the complete top ten. If you’re
wondering why any of these are on the list,
go check out the report:
1. Argentina
2. Belize
3. Chile
4. Ghana
5. Lithuania
6. Namibia
7. Poland
8. Seychelles
9. South Africa
10. Suriname
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