Two in every three tourism businesses in the mid-west experienced a decline in business in 2001, according to MRBI research carried out for Shannon Development.
The "Shannon Pulse" survey for January to October, found that half of the 131 businesses surveyed expect business to be down next year. Of the 93 businesses that have North American trade, none was anticipating growth.
"Rescuing the 2002 season will be an enormous challenge. In the space of just one year the focus has changed from how do we manage growth to how do we help ensure that businesses come through what will be a period of deep turbulence," Mr John Leonard, Shannon Development's, regional tourism manager, said.
This year, the overseas business was the worst affected, with 75 per cent of businesses stating they experienced a downturn.
"In February, the prospect of a 10th successive year of tourism growth suddenly dimmed with the threat, and then the reality of foot-and-mouth arriving in Ireland. It had a deep impact on tourism across all regions and sectors, but particularly in rural areas," Mr Leonard said.
Domestic tourism was a saving grace, with 71 per cent of businesses experiencing parity or growth in this market, compared to the same period in 2000. Recognition of the connection between tourism and the wider economy by policy-makers was one of the few positives to emerge from the downturn, Mr Leonard added.
National tourism figures for the year were expected to show just a one percentage point drop in visitor numbers, but this would not reflect the depth of the impact on rural tourism and activity holiday businesses.
"Our advice to every single business is that while they should prepare for a downturn, it is an imperative that they themselves work harder to achieve growth."