The tourist industry, just recovering from foot- and-mouth disease, is facing a much more menacing problem. The terrorist attacks on New York and Washington have caused companies and individuals in the United States to cancel all but essential transatlantic travel. Europeans have no great appetite for travel to America either. The impact on the airline business has been swift and devastating. The knock- on effect on tourism, not just in Ireland, is also immediate.
It is worth recalling the economic significance of Irish tourism. It supports an estimated 150,000 jobs. Last year, we received 6.3 million visitors. The revenue generated to the State was £4 billion. Apart from the money the business makes, it is a vital part of regional development. It is difficult to attract manufacturing industry to remoter parts of the country. These areas can only sustain their populations and economic viability with the money from tourism. There is no point in denying this is now at serious risk.
Tourism Ireland Ltd, the new all-Ireland tourism body, is facing a horrendous birth. Airlines - which deliver tourists to markets - are cutting back on transatlantic capacity, some of them like Aer Lingus quite severely. The US market is Ireland's second largest source of visitors, but is proportionately the most profitable. Many famous properties, from Ashford Castle to Dromoland Castle, depend heavily on their American business. So do many visitor attractions, from the Book of Kells to the Giant's Causeway. No part of the island is untouched.
It is not possible to plot a strategy for the industry while the precise nature of the American reaction to the terrorist attacks remains unknown. However, it can be said with certainty that, no matter what happens, the US market will be difficult in 2002. This suggests the industry should look more closely at the European market. Ireland has never captured a decent share of the continental European tourist market. One reason is beyond our control: the weather. Northern continentals will naturally gravitate southwards to the sun although southerners like the French, Italians and Spaniards can find the Irish climate a relief from relentless sunshine. Ireland has advantages which so far have not been fully exploited. We have a cultural affinity with Europe, and Europe likes our music and literature.
The other part of the European challenge is to make it easier - and cheaper - to get to Ireland. Air fares are generally considered too high and European tour operators have sometimes complained about the cost and quality of Irish car ferries. These are problems which can be put right over time. The immediate task is to examine, fundamentally, what the tourist industry needs to do to cope with the certainty of a severe downturn in its second most important market.