Complexity and chaos theory may provide some insights into crisis and disaster management for organisations in the tourism industry. Crises and disasters illustrate chaotic situations and illustrate the complex interrelationships between human and natural systems (Faulkner, 2001). Understanding the relationship between cause and effect and the implications of decisions and actions is a complicated process. This is illustrated in the case of the Foot and Mouth Outbreak which started out as a farming crisis and ended up as a disaster for the tourism industry because of the way that
it was handled (see Miller & Ritchie, 2003 for more information). Similarly, the SARS virus and its spread