Galway businesses are reporting a drop in tourism spending so far this summer.
The ongoing refurbishment works in Eyre Square, the ban on children in licensed premises after 9 p.m. and Ireland's reputation as an expensive country to visit are some of the reasons being blamed for the downturn.
City centre coordinator, Mr Declan McDonnell, said some city businesses were down in sales by 20 to 25 per cent on last summer and some were about level with last year, while labour and other costs had gone up.
"Some people are being affected by the Eyre Square situation and Galway could be suffering from other issues as well, such as clamping and traffic.
"With the change in the traffic arrangements at Eyre Square, though, things have definitely improved there," he explained.
Mr McDonnell said the ban on children being permitted into licensed premises after 9 p.m. certainly had to be looked at.
"If children are on a family holiday, are of a reasonable age and are behaving themselves, then I think they should be entitled to sit with their parents," he stated.
Senior tourism officer with Ireland West, Mr Brian Quinn, said that in the first few months of 2004, the American tourist trade in Galway and the west was up 15 per cent on last year.
He explained, "The feedback we are getting is mixed. The hotels say their numbers are up, but there is a question about the spend. Shopkeepers and visitor centres are reporting that the spend is not up to their expectations."
He added, "We are very conscious of the fact that there is a great squeeze on revenue because there is so much competition and people are fighting over the home market."
Mr Quinn said the expectation this year was that the US and British markets would show some growth and that had happened.
He was also getting very positive feedback about the German tourist market, which was not foreseen because of the country's weak economic state.
The decline in activity holidays was hitting the rural areas badly, Mr Quinn explained, and there were fewer walkers, anglers and cyclists around than in the late 1990s.
Ms Maeve Joyce, public relations executive with Galway Chamber of Commerce, said the city was seeing the return of the Americans this summer, although it wasn't expected to be as good as the peak year of 2000.