The number of visitors to Ireland fell 6.8 per cent over the peak summer months, according to figures released today.
Central Statistics Office figures show over 150,000 fewer people travelled to Ireland in the third quarter of 2001 compared to the same period the previous year.
Worryingly, the figures only cover a 19-day period after the September 11th attacks on the US and are likely to have been influenced by the residual effects of the foot-and-mouth outbreak.
This is borne out by the 12.2 per cent fall in visitors coming to Ireland from Britain while transatlantic traffic fell by 7.6 per cent.
However, the figures also suggest the tourism industry was beginning to recover after the FMD scare with a proportion of the 6.8 per cent drop attributable to the fear of flying that spread throughout the world following the attacks on the US. But the real effects of September 11th are likely to be represented in the figures for the final quarter due for release at the end of March.
Prior to September 11th, Bord Failte expected 200,000 visitors from the US in the last quarter.
Mr John Power, chief executive of the Irish Hotels Federation said the figures for the fourth quarter of 2001 would show the true extent of the damage September 11th has had on the tourist industry. "We look forward to those figures with some trepidation," he said.
He also highlighted the importance of marketing asn said the signs of recovery from the FMD scare contained in today's figures owed much to the public-confidence-building measures, especially in Britian.
"The positive thing I would take out of is how effective the marketing campaign was in Britian and it shows how important it is to put finances into marketing to a market that is capable of delivering," he said.
An indication of the cost of the fall off in trade for accommodation businesses is represented in the number of bed nights spent over the third quarter with 219,000 fewer compared to 2000.
The loss to hotels, guesthouses and bed and breakfasts is valued at over €10 million but is offset somewhat by strong demand in the domestic market.
The CSO figures also show the number of people travelling from Ireland increased 15.3 per cent for the July September period but the balance of trade was still favourable with €1,453 million coming into the country while €1,205 million was spent abroad.