So often, tourism is a "bit player" in the health of a community. In the traditional models of tourism,  tour operators come and - at best - the visitors they bring spend money that contributes to the local economy. While the tourism income helps, there is a lot of  what economists call "leakage". Imagine a new type of tourism company - a company founded for the purpose of enhancing the cultural and economic benefit of the host community. Imagine a social enterprise - like Tom's Shoes or Ethos Water...

While I am committed to promoting sustainability in tourism, I am sure that we can do better. Sure - I know many destinations are struggling just to ensure that tourism is not a destructive force in their communities.But just not being bad isn't good enough...