Tourism occurs within, and interacts with, a complex, multi-dimensional, multi-layered and dynamic world. In other words, the global tourism system’s external environment comprises a variety of economic, political, cultural, technological, environmental and other elements that are not only inter-related themselves but that may also, individually or collectively, influence or be influenced by tourism. Moreover, these elements may interact with tourism at different levels. Political upheaval or natural disasters, for example, tend to have a local or regional impact (the events of ‘9/11’, of course, being a notable exception), whereas economic factors may have more far-reaching implications. Certainly, the global financial crisis of 2008 is likely to have a major impact on tourism globally, at least in the shorter term (and, perhaps, may signal a fundamental change in the relationship between production and consumption more generally in the longer term). Only time will tell if the predicted zero or negative growth in international tourist arrivals materializes although, at the time of writing, there is widespread evidence of a dramatic downturn in tourism demand. For example, the demand for cruising has experienced a significant decline with some cruise lines reducing their operations, such as Royal Caribbean Cruises cutting several of its South American cruises as a result of poor levels of bookings (Starmer-Smith, 2008). Equally, the collapse of a number of airlines and tour operators during 2008 is attributable to the financial crisis and the problems associated with high oil prices earlier in the year.