Bed-and-breakfast and hotel-owners in Blarney, Co Cork, have called for a taskforce to examine the dramatic downturn in visitor numbers to the area.As attractions go you can't get much better than Blarney, which is traditionally viewed as a "must see" town for overseas tourists on trips to Ireland.
However, even a town with a famous castle and woollen mills is not guaranteed visitors in the present climate, with Blarney Tourist Office indicating a major drop in tourist numbers last year.
The office handled 70 per cent fewer bookings during 2001 than in 2000. Bed bookings at the tourism outlet slumped from 5,339 to 1,577.
Inquiries at the office also suffered a 41 per cent decrease from 34,570 to 20,371.
While it is acknowledged that the foot-and-mouth crisis did have a bearing on visitor numbers, local hoteliers have expressed concern that the figures for next year could be far worse.
The September 11th terrorist attack has led to a major drop in tourists from the vital US market.
Mr Raymond Hennessy, owner of the Blarney Vale B&B, said he and his wife, Anne, had always considered themselves lucky to own premises in such a popular town.
"The US market has been the single biggest category for Blarney.
"If tourists haven't kissed the Blarney Stone then they don't feel as if they have been to Ireland," he said.
"But the numbers have dropped in the last year. Tourism has been badly hit. If it is being hit here B&B owners must be dying a death up the country."
Mr Hennessy said he was relying on repeat business to get the B&B through the summer as new visitors just weren't on the ground.
He has called for a special tourism body for towns such as Blarney which have so much to offer to visitors from the US, England and continental Europe.
The Blarney Vale owner said it was time for the government to start taking tourism seriously as hotels and B&Bs had a good product and fantastic standards which should be promoted internationally.
"Blarney tourist office has had a 70 per cent drop in bookings. That falls into the category of chronic decline. We are all losers in this," Mr Hennessy said. "September 11th will have a bearing on next year's figures, but it can't be used as an explanation for everything. We should actively market this country like they do in England with their tourist areas."
Tourist figures are down in a number of areas in the Cork-Kerry region, according to the South West Regional Tourism Authority.
Killarney experienced an 18 per cent drop in the number of tourists who spent a night in the town in 2001 as compared to 2000.
The west Cork town of Skibbereen also saw its figures drop 30 per cent, while numbers in Kinsale were down by 25 per cent.
That said, it wasn't all bad news, with figures in Clonakilty, Co Cork, up 45 per cent and Caherciveen, Co Kerry, up 29 per cent.
The confirmation of a €100 million investment in Cork Airport and an increase in services by Aer Arann is also seen as good news for the region.
Mr Con O'Connell, of Cork Kerry Tourism, said he was disappointed with the figures for Blarney but indicated it was important to remember that visitors didn't necessarily make all of their bookings through the tourist office.
Most business is prebooked via the Internet or by phone before visitors ever arrive in the town. Blarney is also continuing to do well on the domestic and European markets.
However, the chief executive, acknowledged that every effort would have to be made to attract visitors to Cork in this difficult period.
"People are recognising the value of tourism especially in Cork and Kerry, which are big revenue generators. If a factory shuts down then the impact is immediate with 2,000 to 3,000 jobs lost. People have to realise that if there is a drop in tourism there is a big knock-on effect. It is as important as a factory closure."
Mr O'Connell said he and colleagues in the industry were becoming increasingly concerned about the dispute at Aer Lingus which was destroying Ireland's reputation as a prime holiday location.
He called on parties on all sides to address their problems in order to prevent further damage to the tourist industry.
"If a holiday is lost it is gone for ever. People aren't going to come back if they think the flights are unreliable.
"It is time to look at the bigger picture and consider the impact it is having on the industry."
Meanwhile, the chairman of Cork Kerry Tourism, Mr Michael Courtney, said a review of government funding to Bord Failte was needed if the tourism market was to recover.