September 11th, high prices and bad weather are blamed for making this one of Killarney's worst tourist seasons, writes Róisín Ingle
The sun was shining in Killarney town yesterday afternoon. Happy tourists browsed among the leprechaun- and linen-filled souvenir shops, children licked ice-cream cones and the clip-clop of horses and carts could be heard all over Killarney National Park.
On the surface, it looked as though tourism was booming in a town where the annual influx of holiday-makers means it is not unusual for the local population to double in size each summer.
But the reality, as grim-faced hoteliers or coach-tour operators contend, is that the 2002 season so far, like the weather for the most part, has been something of a wash-out.
Managers of newly opened hotels who were relying on a busy first season are struggling to fill their rooms. Coach tours have been cancelled and the jarveys - drivers of the town's jaunting cars - are touting even more energetically for passing business.
Visual signs of the downturn are hard to miss. Coaches only a quarter full rumble past at regular intervals. At times cycling around the lakes and mountains of the national park, it can feel like you have the place to yourself.
The traffic, normally a source of frustration for locals at this time of the year, flows freely around the town. In the Bord Fáilte office, despite signs reading "Please Q Here", there are no queues.
Bed-and-breakfasts and guesthouses outside the town appear to be feeling the pinch the most. One guesthouse owner who didn't want to be named due to the ongoing rows about the subject in the local media said the season was poor.
"We miss the Americans, we miss the Germans and other Continentals. The English are here in some numbers but the Irish haven't turned out yet probably because of the weather," he said.
"If I was starting over, I wouldn't set up a guesthouse, if this is the way things are going to continue".
Explaining why the sector is struggling, locals point to the aftermath of September 11th which has made Americans, who generally stay in high-quality hotels and spend more, reluctant to travel. The weather - for parts of Co Kerry this has been the wettest summer on record - is blamed for the disappointing turn-out of domestic visitors.
Some commentators have little sympathy with the beleaguered industry.
Writing in the Kerryman, columnist Mick McConnell ruffled a few feathers when he suggested that "we have finally managed to kill the goose that laid the golden egg". He maintained that the decline in visitors nationally was inevitable due to price increases after the introduction of the euro. Ireland is now the second most expensive country in the euro zone.
This was certainly a concern for tourists like Ms Maureen McArdle, who had travelled to Co Kerry from Melbourne, Australia.
"I'm from Dublin originally and still see Ireland as a very romantic place to visit, but everything is so expensive. It's around three times dearer than at home," she said.
"For years visitors to our shores have been mercilessly ripped off with obscene prices," suggested Mick McConnell. "And now the price must be paid."
The price is a harsh one, as Mr Cyril Patrick, food and beverage manager for the Killarney Plaza, which opened two months ago, explained. "We are experiencing loads of cancellations, particularly from Americans. The weekends are the worst. That is when we are seeing occupancy as low as 20-30 per cent," he said.
Mr Conor Hennigan, general manager of the newly renovated Great Southern Hotel in Killarney, said that normal occupancy of 80 per cent was down to around 60 per cent.
"The buzz is definitely not the same around the town," he said. "And you can get a parking space quite easily, which is unusual."
The impressive make-over of the hotel, which closed for seven months while the work was done, had one local comparing the plush foyer to the luxury of the Titanic. "Let's just hope it doesn't go down like it," joked Mr Hennigan.
"Seriously though, the season is up and down but the Killarney races are on next week and we are coming into a four-week period where it generally picks up anyway."
At times like this, the job of tourist officer is not an easy one. While he is delighted with the success of the recent Summerfest - Tom Jones and Elton John were among the highlights - Mr Declan Murphy, tourism officer for south Kerry, admits that the sector has been "very weak".
"It's a great pity because we have a fantastic product. There is excellent value in the packages being offered at the moment and 25,000 acres of national park on our doorstep," he said.
At the office of Dero's coach tours on the main street, Mr Denis Dero conceded that while they were "busy enough", it had been a bad season so far.
"Certain tours are definitely down, we are seeing a decline in US groups here on extended stays. Normally we would pick up groups of 30 to 40 from the airports but on bad days this is as low as 10 to 14," he said.
The foot-and-mouth epidemic last year meant a slow start to a season which eventually recovered well. And while expectations had been high for 2002, Mr Dero is philosophical about the dramatic reversal in the fortunes for the industry in south Kerry.
"We have had 10 great years where the figures have just grown and grown. You have to expect to take a couple of hits. This is a hiccup and we will bounce back," he said.