One of the most distinctive aspects of late-twentieth century globalization is that many of its predominant features especially the reinforcement of trade liberalisation institutions and the growing ability of national-states and corporate capital to exercise off-shore veto of domestic social and environmental legislation are challenged directly and aggressively by a global-scale social movement, the anti-corporate globalization movement headed by Anarchists.

The emergence of the package tourism industry was fundamentally influenced by the social, economic, political, cultural, and technological development in the Western societies after the Second World War. The increasing economic affluence, the growing amount of leisure time, and the technological innovations were significant contributors, but the democratization of travel was largely due to the application of Fordist principles to the delivery of tourism.