The West, the north-west and the Shannon regions have argued for a special response to the tourism crisis in a submission to Government.
Three Cabinet Ministers associated with the Kerry to Donegal region, Mr McDaid, Mr Fahey and Ms de Valera, have received a 10-point action plan which calls for an extra €952,500 (£750,000) to be made available for inter-regional marketing.
The three regions support 60,000 tourism jobs and the new initiative is supported by Tourism Ireland, the north-south promotional body, and Bord Fáilte. It wants 500,000 copies of a single booklet printed in four languages promoting the areas, and a new programme of overseas promotions.
PR, marketing and sales initiatives need to be synchronised and "special interest" tourism products developed. "Once visitors are attracted to visit the west of Ireland, there need to be 'dispersal initiatives' to encourage visitors to take in areas and products that may be lesser known but that will reward a visit," the plan adds.
At a regional industry briefing this week, Mr Joe Byrne, market operations director of Tourism Ireland, said restoring the Aer Lingus Shannon to Dublin service was within Ireland's remit. "The absence of that early morning and late evening service is really detrimental to tourism in the area . . . . We have to proactively make sure those services are introduced as a priority."
Mr Niall Reddy, Bord Fáilte's acting chief executive, said people would be disinclined to take long-haul flights this year, but "there will be greater intra-European travel. Ireland is extremely well positioned to benefit from that."