Globalization in tourism is an important area of promise and of concern. This paper first highlights the main drivers of globalization, distinguishing between economic, technological, social, demographic, environmental and political drivers. It then addresses several of the important effects of globalization in the context of tourism. These effects include economic development, employment opportunities, the spread of technical knowledge, the development of new markets and products, new consumer values, environmental and socio-cultural changes. The paper concludes that tourism managers need to respond pro-actively to the challenges of globalization, playing an advocacy role if they are to achieve and maintain sustainability in their operations.