Irish tourism providers have been warned of tougher times in the coming months and years because of the downturn in the US economy, stock market volatility and uncertainty in the home market.
But despite the challenges, Fáilte Ireland chief executive Shaun Quinn said he was still "cautiously optimistic" about the 2008 season. "The next few years probably will be a little bit tougher but this is a very resilient industry. It's adapted in the past to bigger shocks and we would still be confident," he said.
Mr Quinn was speaking as tourism industry providers gathered in Dublin to outline plans for the coming season. He said the spending patterns of US visitors were changing.
"They come here with a particular budget in dollar terms and that's what they'll spend. And if they find things a little bit more expensive in dollars that doesn't mean to say they are going to dig deeper into their pockets.
"So you may find that their itineraries change. Their length of holiday may shorten a little bit. They may trade down here and there but we still expect good numbers coming from the US this year."
He added that, according to the World Tourism Organisation, the real impact of the US downturn on Europe would hit home next year, rather than this year.
Tourism Ireland chief executive Paul O'Toole said the US market would "undoubtedly" be a challenging market this year and tourism providers must deliver value more than ever before.
"We are not suddenly going to turn Ireland overnight into a cheap destination. We don't do cheap and, if we did, we'd lose and we shouldn't try," he said. "We have to give incredible value to the visitor."
Last year, almost eight million people visited Ireland, an increase of 5 per cent on 2006.
Mr O'Toole said there was "an explosion of business" from Europe in recent years, particularly France, Germany, the Nordic countries, Italy and Spain."
Mr Quinn warned businesses that if they were not on the web, "they don't exist in the minds of today's tourists".
Some 70 per cent of tourists who came here last year used the internet to either browse for holidays or book a holiday here.
"It's no longer the Michelin map. The web is where it's at and if you are not in, you cannot win."
The Dublin region is expecting a 6 per cent increase in tourism numbers this year, according to Frank Magee, chief executive of Dublin Tourism. Preliminary figures for last year suggest the region also saw a 6 per cent increase in visitor numbers.
Some 65 per cent of all holidaymakers to Ireland come to Dublin, said Mr Magee, rejecting claims that Dublin was an expensive destination.
"I'm just back from a promotion in Paris where I'm in a state of shock at the prices I was paying." He said he paid €40 for a pub lunch with a glass of wine in a venue off the tourist track.
"We are certainly competitive in our competitive set, which is other European capital cities. If you take the price of hotels in Dublin, we are in the lower quartile in comparison with our competitor cities."
He said one of the biggest complaints from tourists in Dublin was about the lack of an integrated ticket for train, bus and Luas services. The Government is to begin the introduction of integrated ticketing next September, starting with Dublin Bus, Luas and Morton's Coaches but it could be another year before the rail and Bus Éireann services are included.
Mr Magee said the later starting times for some transport systems on Sunday mornings would also have to change as tourism was a seven-day business.
