We approach tourism as a tool for community development rather than just as a business. Because unlike other industries its assetts are public goods and global heritage, therefore they must be respected and valued not merely exploited for proffit by a few. The issue of education we believe is paramount, and while I agree that is important to influence the tourist themselves, there is still a long way to go to educate the industry. The ethic is still profit driven and private enterprise in an economic rationalist world means there is not a balance. The right thing is done when it means increasing profit, or new market, or a new award.
Few operations sacrifice some profit to be totally ethical and conservation minded.
There are of course many exceptions, but MANY many more who simply use 'green' approaches as a marketting approach, but in reality little has changed in terms of practice. So I am concerned that the idustry has adopted the rhetoric and labels of sustainable tourism, but my personnel experience is that few in the industry have really shifted in their thinking. Also from my personal observation of practitioners, when a business has the right ethic, and all the employees share this, they act as the best models for the visitor. Of course the area of environmental and cultural interpretation are important tools for raising visitor awareness, but often it is not really well done, eg eevne the the fanciest nicest signage misses the mark if the message is not couhced in language and values that reach the target audience. A classic example, often biodiversity concepts would be better relayed in terms of aesethics, rather then western scientific knowledge.