"This crisis descended from the skies and has the potential to torpedo much of the economy and much of what has been achieved in growth," Mr John Dully, chief executive of Bord Failte, says of foot-and-mouth. Mr Dully has updated losses to date this season in the tourist industry to £225 million. It could amount to £700 million or more than one-sixth of external tourist revenue if it continues until August, the end of the peak season, when the British situation is expected to level out.
He is most disappointed with "corporate Ireland" which "should have been showing as much patriotism as ordinary people" in continuing to organise conferences and meetings when instead they have been cancelled.
"Can you imagine the signal this is sending out?" he asks. "We can do without shooting ourselves in the foot and should encourage corporate Ireland to be as patriotic as people on the street are being."
People on the street are being asked by Bord Failte to holiday at home, whether on short breaks or during the summer, and the board is encouraging the industry to be as competitive as possible in the circumstances. "I think the market place is already determining this and offering a menu of very competitive prices."
The tourism industry generates more than £3 billion in foreign revenue and another £1 billion from the domestic market and employs 150,000 people. This is expected to increase to 180,000 at least in the immediate future.
Since the end of the 1980s, £3.6 billion has been invested in the industry and another £100 million is coming from the National Development Plan. The £6 billion being spent on infrastructural development will help tourism also.
"The industry is big enough when a crisis like this hits the country. We can see we are doing everything possible to be to the forefront in responsibility . . . we have to take the helicopter view and see that there is much more at stake than agriculture," he says.
Mr Dully is worried that people providing activity holidays - such as angling, equestrian sports and hillwalking - will suffer especially. "They are not multinationals, cash rich; these are the people I worry about because these are the people who face a serious financial crisis if things continue.
"If we aggregate these people and the problems they may face, we could be looking at a significant impact on our entire prod uct base that has taken 10 years to build up. If people don't make money this year, how can we expect them to trade up next year?" To combat the problems this huge industry faces, Bord Failte is spending £38 million, to include an extra £3 million, and the industry generally will spend £55 million on promoting Ireland this year.
He has had a positive response from the Minister for Tourism, Dr McDaid, and hopes the Minister will give the industry a multiple of the £3 million for promotion.
A "reassuring" advertising campaign will target key markets, mainly Britain, the US and Europe. US cities, media events, trade contacts, joint ventures with commercial partners and probably VIP or personality endorsements also are planned.