In the south-west June and July, two of the prime holiday months, failed to live up to growth expectations, and the figures will only be boosted by Irish holidaymakers taking second breaks at home late in the season, according to Mr Con O'Connell of Cork/Kerry Tourism.
The "softening" spoken of in the industry for June and July means visitor numbers to the region are holding their own, and the expected growth of 7 per cent for the two months did not materialise.
The region, says Mr O'Connell, probably mirrors the position across the country. Hotels have been doing well and will show increased business by the end of the season, but rural B & Bs have had a tough June and July.
"I think more people want to be near centres where all the facilities such as restaurants etc are available. Self-catering group schemes near resorts have been showing a dramatic increase in areas like Dingle, Youghal and Clonakilty, but there are other factors in the fall-off for June and July.
"British holiday-makers haven't been coming to the region in the same numbers because they have been availing of great value, particularly in long-haul flights, from the UK.
"Options like this have provided serious competition for us and that's one of the main reasons we are feeling the effects. Also, in the home market, there are very good-value flights available to the euro zone," he said.
A very obvious phenomenon in modern Irish tourism, Mr O'Connell said, is that Irish people can now afford to take two holiday breaks every year. The evidence this year is that the main holiday is being spent abroad but the industry still hopes to make up the figures at the end of the season.
Ms Georgina Coughlan, area representative for the Town and Country Homes Association, said the feedback she was getting from the industry was that June and July had been slow to pick up. Her sector of the industry also noticed that self-catering accommodation and group schemes were doing particularly well.
There were widespread reports of intending visitors cancelling pre-booked accommodation because of the rail dispute, she added. Early indications were that German visitors were down by 27 per cent, French by 44 per cent, Italian by 40 per cent and that there was very little growth in the English market. However, the first two weeks of August brought a rally.