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The Toronto Star recently published a list of ten ethical travel destinations for 2010 (although the headline, in a little mathematical/editorial confusion, advertises seven). The ten countries have supposedly been selected on the basis of “everything from promoting natural environments to building tourism industries that benefit locals.” There seems to be a somewhat imbalanced emphasis on countries who have made conservation a priority and who boast exceptional natural environments, but the list seems fair enough.
However, I find the notion of “ethical travel destinations” bizarre. What, after all, is an “ethical destination?” And how can one classify a whole country as ethical or unethical? Obviously, the article is referring to governments and government policy and judging on that basis, but I still find the label odd.
In the context of travel, I wonder how useful it is to label certain countries ethical and others not. I can see the logic behind it and understand what kinds of factors might be figured into the ethical equation – but how much would be lost in travel if we only traveled to “ethical” places?
Mexico is deeply unethical in its treatment of women and its obscene corruption, and China is unethical in more ways than I can count, but would not having traveled to or lived in either of these places make me a better person and a “better” traveler, and would it have enhanced that global understanding we like to think emerges from travel?
Behind this definition of ethical travel lurks the old beast of holier-than-thou presumption. You, Ghana, we choose you for your “impressive commitment to genuine democracy” but you, Senegal, or Benin, or Bolivia, we’re not really going to grace you with our presence because you’re not ethical enough. And we’re going to hand pick, according to our criteria, what satisfies our definition of ethics and spend our time and our money accordingly.
I agree that it’s important to be aware of the ethical background of any place you travel. I’m always surprised at people who can travel somewhere and enjoy coral reefs and turquoise bays without giving the slightest about the situation of the people serving them, talking with them, living there year round.
But I’m not sure that defining a place as “ethical” or “unethical” is really useful in travel, and I’m not sure that avoiding places which lack the ethical standards established by Western media is really a productive or helpful idea. I lived for a year in China – couldn’t see my own blog and a whole range of other websites, saw the migrant workers working twelve hours a day throwing up buildings for the Olympics, breathed air that gave me pneumonia in two months.
But I learned more in that year than I’ve learned from any other experience, hands down.
So I ask – do you seek out ethical places? Avoid unethical ones? What is your travel ethic?
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5 Comments... join the discussion!
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Just to play devil’s advocate, isn’t tourism one of the largest industries in the world, if not the largest, revenue wise? Many countries especially those in the developing world rely on dollars generated from tourism to support their economies. There is a huge potential for travelers to utilize the economic force of tourism to encourage better environmental and social practices. I think these type of reports are more applicable to people who take a two week holiday once a year, as opposed to someone like you who is probably an avid backpacker and looks at travel as more than just a holiday. It can be good to encourage people to go to new places that have a bigger commitment to protecting the environment and human rights. Take all the Americans who go to Mexico year after year for a cheap beach holiday, as you so aptly pointed out Mexico is deeply corrupt and is a very dangerous place for local people in certain areas where the drug cartels presence is more prevalent, very few Americans really think about this when they hop down to Cabo for a week.
I’m with you, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go somewhere and as you pointed out there is a great deal of subjectivity in these reports and it is extremely difficult to accurately classify an entire country as more ethical than another. And I think that is an important distinction, just because a country doesn’t make the cut that doesn’t necessarily mean it is unethical, the point is that the 10 destinations or whatever that did make the cut are more ethical. And hopefully there is an explanation of what factors were taken into consideration that made these destinations the best, obviously every report weighs certain factors higher than others.
I think this is a very complicated issue. The reports are a just a guideline. Someone who considers themselves to be an “ethical” traveler can look at a report as the first source of information, not the last. It should be the beginning of research and hopefully spark a greater interest and concern about how one can use tourist dollars as a powerful force for change. Unfortunately, as I’m sure you know the danger is that many people with take these reports at face value and suddenly decide that such and such place is the most ethical with out looking into it themselves. Or they will think that because X didn’t make the list that makes it unethical.
Very interesting points you made. You brought up some ideas I hadn’t considered on the subject. Like you, I travel to learn about all things, good and bad, and so I will travel to countries that have little interest in the environment or human rights issues, but I’m a backpacker. I think those who are hitting up five star hotels and pouring a great deal of money into a specific location just for fun should pay more attention to the realities of the place they are traveling to and in that way these reports can be useful. Thank you for sharing.
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Also, I think the Toronto Star does a poor job of representing the intentions and reasoning behind generating an annual ethical destinations report that was created by EthicalTraveler.org. If you check out their website here http://www.ethicaltraveler.org/destinations/2010, I think you will find that their intentions are much more noble than originally surmised and they actually address much of what you criticize above. I’d love to see what you think.
At the time I read your post I admit I didn’t read the Toronto Star’s post. I now realize their article is covering EthicalTraveler.org’s publication, a website that I write for. So I appreciate your thoughts on the subject.
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I loved this article. Thank you for your thoughts. This is one I have thought about for many many years. I agree with you 100% by travelling to places it broadens us and makes us better travellers. I strongly believe by immersing yourself in the local culture, is the only way to expand your knowledge on a destination. We need to be aware of the politics of course when we travel, but coming in and meeting locals is as good for us as the locals ( if we are responsible travellers of course).
The one things articles like this does do is raise awareness to destinations, that they are more then just what the traveller wants to go see. Hopefully makes people stop and think about any destination as a whole and not just what they can possibly get out of the destination.
I just found your site and am looking forward to reading many more articles.
Cheers
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Sarah and Julie, I am glad that the Toronto Star’s brief coverage of our report provoked questions. Our methodology for creating a list of ethical destinations is detailed in the original report, which you can find here: http://www.ethicaltraveler.org/destinations .
The issue of “ethical destinations” is simple. When you travel, you are voting with your dollars. The places you visit are getting your votes. Yes, the world is complex. But some countries are doing great things in terms of protecting the environment and human rights. If this is important to you, you may wish to support these countries with your vacation spending.
We don’t tell people NOT to travel to places with horrible environmental or human rights records. For instance, we support travel to Burma, as long as it is done on an individual (not group tour) basis, so as to minimize the amount of money that goes to the regime. Supporting mom and pop hotels and restaurants will also give you a more authentic experience, no matter where you choose to travel.
Thanks to everyone for contributing to this constructive conversation!
Michael McColl
Co-Founder & Director of Communications
http://Ethicaltraveler.org
— Empowering Travelers to Change the World –↵
