AS reports came in throughout the day yesterday of tourists canceIling bookings and leaving Northern Ireland, leaders of tourism and industry expressed fears about the impact of the unrest on the economy.
The chairman of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, Mr Roy Baillie, was reluctant to concede that there had been a serious setback in the board's efforts to boost tourism, but admitted that it was now more difficult.
"If one had a choice one would not want a backdrop such as we've had last week," he said. However, he stressed that there were still many positive signs.
"Tour operators are not pulling out and they're still coming in. One would hope and pray that this situation would resolve itself very quickly and we would come back to the degree of normality of last week where there were very encouraging signs of tour operators coming in almost at the level of 1995."
Belfast International Youth Hostel, which is situated near Sandy Row, had 40 cancellations, of which 20 were Americans who had booked in for three days and left for Scotland after one night.
In Derry, Oakgrove Manor International Youth Hostel had 21 cancellations, but a spokesman for the Youth Hostel Association, Mr Roy Canavan, said that cancellations had not been extensive. "Our business is more hand-to-mouth, backpackers booking a bed ahead," he said.
Backpackers interviewed on the BBC, reflecting the more carefree attitudes of young people, were uneasy, but not panicking. One Swiss visitor said it was frightening and "It is frightening in a way. It's difficult to know how bad the situation is. It seems to be confined to certain areas.
Her companion said: "In a way it's quite sad. I'm interested in history, and I saw the peace process over the past few years. I wanted to see how it was going.
However, an American couple touring Northern Ireland in a hired car were anxious to leave. "I'm happy that we're leaving. We're going to Galway and the west coast," the woman said.
This type of reaction was reported by some hotels and guest-houses, with one guest-house owner in Port rush reporting that all his bookings for the rest of July had been cancelled.
Mr Baillie said he could understand such reactions. "Certainly the environment of burning cars and streets is not exactly the one which encourages tourism, or indeed inward investment, or indeed investment of any kind."
Meanwhile the Northern Ireland Economy Minister, Baroness Dent on, said that the unrest would set the economy back "yards, if not miles". The images of physical disruption flashing around the world would undermine efforts made to attract investment, she said.
The chairman of CBI-Northern Ireland, Mr Bill Tosh, expressed concern about the disruption of trade and industry by the blocking of roads. "It should be realised that the legacy of such actions will remain long after the actions themselves have ceased." He appealed to political leaders to ensure that wiser counsels prevailed.
The acting director of the CBI-Northern Ireland, Mrs Deirdre Stewart, said that there had not been disruption on this scale for about 15 years. She said that there was serious disruption of business in the Portadown and Lurgan area, with some allegations of intimidation.
"Companies are having difficulties getting materials and workers in and out," she told The Irish Times. "One worker refused to unload a lorry because he said he had been told not to.
"Companies are not getting their empty trailers back, because drivers are afraid to travel, or roads are blocked. What is worrying is that the longer it goes on the more effect it will have."