THE FRIDAY INTERVIEW: As competition increases, the Irish tourist sector could suffer if Government does not follow the lead taken by others and invest significant funds in promotion, writes Ella Shanahan

"Americans are not just going to sit back and not take their vacation. They feel they deserve it.

"Americans are very resilient and that is the one reason why tourism has come back faster than anticipated; we're very resilient," Mr Bob Whitley, president of the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA), says emphatically.

And he says they are becoming more sophisticated in their travel. "About 32 years ago, there was a movie If This Is Tuesday It Must Be Belgium - that was the typical European tour, 11 capitals in 20 days. That is not true anymore. Americans are seeing more destinations in depth. They are doing the back roads. They will spend their whole two weeks in one country," he adds.

Variously described as a "top dog" in the US travel business, "a refined, cultured Southern gentleman" and "a bandit on the golf course", Mr Whitley has for 24 years headed the most important tour operators' group with 58 corporate members, representing 146 different tour operators. Mr Brian Stack, head of CIE Tours in the US, is current vice-chairman of the association.

His members annually move more than 10 million tourists and have a turnover in excess of $9 billion (€10 billion) in sales.

In a country with no regulation of the tourist market, the USTOA operates a $1 million consumer protection plan to protect consumers in the event of the collapse of any of its members - "like the Good Housekeeping seal of approval", as one person in the business describes it.

In Ireland this week to address a meeting of the Incoming Tour Operators Association, he says that after September 11th, Americans initially travelled to what they perceived as "safe destinations" - Australia, South Africa, South America, Mexico and the Caribbean.

"But those markets are pretty much minor markets - 400,000 people go to Australia but 10 million will come to Europe. Ninety days after September 11th, Europe was pretty much perceived as an unsafe destination because of all the publicity, because of England's support of the US in their effort.

"Tourism to London fell from the American market disastrously because they thought of retaliation."

Because of this and last year's foot-and-mouth crisis, Britain has set up a $28 million promotional campaign to encourage inbound travel from the United States. And Mr Whitley warns that the Irish market - which was not as badly affected by either - could suffer if it does not take similar action.

"Ireland's major competition is a fight to maintain marketplace," he warns. "Ireland cannot afford to lose US market share because other countries are promoting more aggressively. Take a cue from the British: the private sector in Ireland must pressure the Government to commit funding for increased US tourism promotion.

"Because the American market is so important, so many destinations are vying for that market. Americans will spend on average a lot more than any other country's travellers. Our concern is that lack of funding for promotion could have a bad effect on that.

"Australia, Greece, Turkey, Mexico and Canada all are increasing their promotional budgets. Ireland could lose some of its market share because it's not keeping up," he says.

That said, he has nothing but praise for the work of the Irish Tourist Board in the United States.

"I work with all the tourist offices in my job and I would say the Irish Tourist Board is one of the most professional in the United States, but without the proper funding there is only so much they can do."

And he believes the promotion of Ireland on an all-island basis is really good.

"It's widely known that Americans tend to be weak when it comes to geography. So, many Americans don't know the difference between Northern Ireland and Ireland. As a result of years of news coverage showing violence, Northern Ireland does suffer from lingering negative perceptions. By selling Ireland as a single entity, these perceptions can be overcome and I believe it will be very beneficial to Northern Ireland."

Americans' attitudes to travel have changed since September 11th and also because of the recession in the second half of last year, an economic situation that he believes is on the upturn. This year should end up being a better year than had been expected.

"For US domestic travel, the Travel Industry Association recently forecast a 2 per cent increase in 2002 spending and an 8 per cent increase in 2003. Seven months ago, travel came to a standstill. Today, our outbound tour operators report a comeback in booking as we enter the spring and summer season. . . operators are still down 40 to 50 per cent for peak season travel."

And he says bookings now are being made much closer to the departure date and price still will be a very big determining factor as to where people travel.

Mr Whitley says air accessibility is a major problem with the Irish market. Where last year there were six flights to the east coast of the US - from where the bulk of the half-a-million tourists to Ireland come every year, there now are only four.

"With Aer Lingus dropping services from Newark and Baltimore, you have lost a third of your capacity from the Mid-Atlantic. We assume there will be a 20 per cent drop in visitors [this year\], so you are still faced with a shortage of seats, which will have a further negative impact on business in 2002.

"If a tour operator has the customers to come to Ireland and there are limited seats, the tour operator will go to other destinations."

He would like to see more competition in the airline business generally and would welcome Ryanair crossing the Atlantic.

"I am a firm believer in competition and the more the better, especially because the majority of tourists are the plain people and airlines are more concerned with business travel. There is some money to be made from the back of the plane as well."

He believes government control of airlines is the main reason for the financial troubles and collapse of so many airlines recently.

"If you can't fire people for incompetency or if there is no incentive to succeed because of the security you have and you don't have an incentive to make a profit, you get complacent."

Because of his travels, Mr Whitley views conflict situations without the blinkers many Americans wear.

"I'm concerned about what's happening in the Middle East," he admits, appreciating both sides of the situation. "In the next 60 days, there could be a big war and that would affect travel."

A Virginian, he began his working career in the advertising department of a local newspaper. He went on to start the Virginia Beach Convention and Business Bureau before becoming director of the Florida Department of Tourism.

"Florida was the number one tourism state and, being ambitious, I wanted to be head of the number one tourism state."

But then the gloss wore off. "After 12 years of government restrictions, I wanted to get out of government and into the private sector" and so he headed for the USTOA and Manhattan.

Although he travels around 100 days each year, he says: "I love working in New York. In my travels I'm asked what is my favourite place - and I virtually love everywhere I've been to - but New York city has everything. It's one of the best places in the world to work. And the bouncing back of New York has been unbelievable since September 11th."

On the day, he was stranded in Belfast and got in an extra few days of golf before the airports reopened and he could return.

He lives in Connecticut with his wife, Carol, whom he met at High School. He has three children and four grandchildren. Now 58 years, he intends to keep working until he is 67.

Mr Whitley is a man clearly in love with Ireland. Asked what were the most negative aspects of Ireland as a destination, he replies: "I really can't think of any. I have never thought about anything negative about here".

And positive? "The people, without a doubt. And the quaintness of the villages and towns, and the friendliness of the people. You can go into any pub and you would be welcome."

And what one thing would he change if he could? "Being the golfer I am, I would change the weather. . . more sunny days."