Compiled by Ethical Traveler, a non-profit California-based project of Earth Island Institute, which aims to promote responsible travel, the 2010 list selects countries by the work they are doing to upgrade the environment, social welfare and human rights.

With three African countries (Ghana, Namibia and South Africa) and an island republic (Seychelles) on the list, Africa?s attempts at responsible tourism received special mention by the research team, headed up by Christy Hoover. Seychelles, in particular, was noted as a world leader in sustainable tourism.

While Europe, which is largely developed, came in with two candidates, Lithuania and Poland, which rated highest overall, South America had four tourism-conscious representatives, Argentina, Belize, Chile and Suriname. Asia, notably, produced absolutely none. With no improvement from last year, irresponsible development, human rights abuses and weak environmental policies were cited as the reasons.

Though crime was highlighted as a deterrent, South Africa received special mention for supporting eco-friendly, community-based tourism ventures, as well as for sustainable coastal development and environmental management. It also came in a strong second after Lithuania for press freedom.

Researchers also singled out Ghana, for its commitment to democracy and growing culture of environmental consciousness, and Suriname, for its unspoilt rainforest biodiversity and ecotourism and environmental preservation.

Campaign against sex tourism

Co-founded by intrepid traveller and author Jeff Greenwald, in 2003, ?to empower travellers to change the world?, Ethical Traveler is particularly sensitive to sex trafficking and gender prejudice. However, it made an exception for Belize, Namibia and Seychelles which all criminalise homosexuality, but do not appear to enforce them zealously.

Having launched a campaign to urge tourists not to pour their dollars into Peru because of rampant child sex trafficking, the organization omitted Bulgaria, Bolivia and Costa Rica from this year?s list for the same reason.

Using the campaign in Peru, which relies heavily on tourism, as an example, Greenwald explained the organisation?s modus operandi: ?To prevent ineffective action on our part, we partnered with other organisations actually located in Peru. Finally, we publicised the issue on our website and began a letter-writing campaign by our members.

"This culminated in our "snail-mailing" hundreds of letters against sex trafficking to Mercedes Araoz, Peru's Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism. The letters are pretty simple. They remind Minister Araoz that we travelers have a choice of where to spend our tourism dollars ? and that we're less inclined to spend them in a country that turns a blind eye to the sex trafficking of girls and boys.?

Can travellers change the world?

In a nutshell, Greenwald?s mission, ambitious and idealistic though he confesses it is, is to encourage world travellers to travel mindfully and step off the beaten track: ?Our core belief is that motivated travellers, mindful of our planet's social and environmental concerns, can be instrumental in creating a better world.?

Using volunteer journalists with a beady eye for human rights and travel issues to keep its website up to speed, Ethical Traveler has over 4000 members in over 70 countries. Greenwald sees travel as the world?s biggest industry, greater even than oil, so it makes sense to spend money on destinations that use it to build up local communities rather than multinationals.

While he admits it is impossible to research absolutely every country on the planet, he believes the usually open-source research, available on the internet, is reliable enough to make an accurate assessment of those most ethically attractive to the traveller. Obviously, concludes Greenwald, no country is perfect: ?Some are strong in some areas, and weaker in others. Some do many things well, but fall dramatically short in one critical area. As the list gets shorter, the final choices get harder. It's as difficult as recommending dishes in a great restaurant. Everything is delicious; but these are the specials.?

With the World Cup on our doorstep, it seems South African pebbles may be sending ripples further afar than we thought. You can read the full report at http://www.ethicaltraveler.org/index.php.