Irish travellers continued to take holidays in the US this year despite the September 11th attacks, unlike their British counterparts many of whom stayed away.
The Irish market has not taken the significant setbacks that the UK has experienced in the overall tourism market, and the forecast is good for next year, according to representatives of the Irish Travel Agents' Association (ITAA) and its rival Irish Tour Operators' Federation.
For the 2003 season, they are also predicting growth in the market worldwide, particularly on short-haul packages, in spite of forecasts of a slump in the economy.
In the summer, the number of Irish tourists taking transatlantic trips dropped by 10 to 15 per cent compared to those travelling in 2001. Over a third of their British counterparts, however, stayed away from the US because of the terrorist attacks.
A spokeswoman for Aer Lingus said that capacity on transatlantic flights on the summer schedules was cut overall. In spite of the reduction, the passenger numbers were down by only 15 per cent.
"This is a good figure when you look at the decreased capacity, and all flights were very heavily booked," she said.
Routes to Newark and Baltimore were cancelled after September 11th, but the Baltimore route will resume next March.
The rest of the routes worldwide were up by 3 per cent compared to 2001, she said.
Mr Brendan Moran, chief executive of the ITAA, said there had been a downturn in the immediate months after September 11th, but this had picked up over this summer.
"There has been a downturn in the economy, and the Budget is promising to be stringent. This will have an impact, but we still expect good, steady growth," Mr Moran said.
The only area affected had been business travel, which decreased by about 15 per cent because of the general economic downturn.
With regard to the Bali bombing, travel to south-east Asia could expect to be down in the short term, he said.
Mr Niall McDonnell, president of the Irish Tour Operators' Federation, said that in spite of the economic forecast for 2003, the travel industry did not appear to be slowing down and people were booking for next year.
At American Holidays, Mr John Devereaux said business was down about 10 to 15 per cent over the summer. Seat capacity had been reduced. For example, Delta Airlines discontinued one flight to New York which had never been restored.
However, the Irish market had not experienced the significant downturn in business suffered elsewhere.