PHOTO. The Nukuʻalofa Royal Palace

Tonga has been identified by the Ethical Traveller Organization as one of the World’s Ten Best Ethical tourism destinations for 2015.

Three other South Pacific Island destinations are Palau, Samoa and Vanuatu.

The organisation said it selected the 10 top destinations after studying their respective positions on environmental protection, social welfare, human rights as well as animal welfare.

“For each of these categories, we look at information past and present so that we understand not only the current state of a country, but how it has changed over time”, it says.

“This helps us select nations that are actively improving the state of their people, government and environment”.

The organisation studied various international sources in its attempt to assess the status of its selected destinations including Reporters Without Borders, UNICEF, World Bank and reviews of local English language media.

The Ethical Traveller Organisation said these governments have taken over the past years to improve policies and practices in their countries.

World’s 10 best ethical tourism destinations list according to their alphabetical order:

  • Cape Verde *
  • Chile *
  • Dominica *
  • Lithuania *
  • Mauritius *
  • Palau *
  • Samoa
  • Tonga
  • Uruguay *
  • Vanuatu

For more information

The World’s Ten Best Ethical Destinations – 2015