The California-based group Ethical Traveler has published a list of the world's top ten destinations recommended for ethical travel. Bulgaria is among them, Radio Deutsche Welle said in a report from Washington D.C. on Wednesday.

In order to be included on the ethical travel list, a country should meet a number of criteria ranging from ecology to civil rights, BTA reports.

The recommended countries make noble efforts to protect their natural wealth, to build light and convenient infrastructure and to be oriented towards an economy which enables the citizens of the country to share in tourism profits.

As a rule, the elected countries are not among the world's leading travel destinations, but they have things to offer and need encouragement for their travel markets. The ten selected countries are always from the developing parts of the world.

Of the East European countries, Bulgaria, Croatia and Estonia are on this year's list. It is for the first time that three East European countries are included in the top ten. The other countries on the list are in Africa and Latin America. They were selected from among 70 evaluated countries.

The selection is based on hundreds of criteria. Ethical Traveler works together with Yale University and Columbia University and uses the civil and human rights reports of organizations like Amnesty International and Freedom House. For example, Estonia and Bulgaria top the table in terms of civil liberty.

The California organization says that the term "ethical travel" refers to the type of tourism which is based on recognizing the effect of travel on the world. Ethical travel is the type of travel which supports the protection of the environment, promotes civil and human rights and encourages positively developing countries.