Mongolia has been named one of the Top 10 Ethical Travel Destinations in 2016 by Ethical Traveler, a non-profit group of Earth Island Institute.
Ethical Traveler, based in California, U.S, has been releasing the annual list since 2006 “to empower travelers to change the world”, according to the group’s website. The CNN referred to it as the “list of the 10 most forward-thinking countries in the developing world”.
The list chooses developing countries based on their performance in human rights, social welfare, animal welfare and environmental protection, as well as their appeal as a travel destination.
Mongolia’s inclusion in the list was the first time a developing mainland Asian country made the list.
Mongolia was one of the countries to receive the second highest score in political and civil rights areas from the Freedom House, an NGO that conducts research on politics and human rights. Mongolia was also noted for its leading end-of-life care, low unemployment rate, and rapid progress made in environmental protection last year, according to the Environmental Performance Index of the Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center.

The 2016 Top 10 Ethical Travel Destinations are (in alphabetical order):

1. Cape Verde
2. Dominica
3. Grenada
4. Micronesia (Federated States)
5. Mongolia
6. Panama
7. Samoa
8. Tonga
9. Tuvalu
10. Uruguay