Visitors from the UK played a significant role in the growth of tourism in its region, according to the South West Regional Tourism Authority annual report.
Figures for the region reveal an increase of 5 per cent in overseas visitors for 2002, reversing the national trend of a downturn in the market.
The surprise figures were revealed at the a.g.m. of Cork Kerry Tourism in Cork yesterday, where the outgoing chairman, Cllr Michael Courtney, insisted the British tourism market was the key factor in the favourable report.
"The biggest market is on our doorstep. There's a huge increase in British visitors, and what is favouring us now is the additional access into the region. The number of new flights coming into the region and the new development of Cork Airport are great for us," he said.
The chief executive of Cork Kerry Tourism, Ms Maura Moynihan, said that despite a remarkable series of external shocks in recent years, the market was proving resilient.
"We believe air access was a significant key of this year's growth, and direct access is a crucial feature," she said.
"What we need is to get additional flights from the US into the region, so that we can grow the US market for the entire region," Ms Moynihan said.
According to its report for 2002, the number of overseas visitors to the Cork-Kerry region was up 5 per cent on 2001, with an associated revenue increase of 10.9 per cent.
Visitors from the UK market rose by 13.6 per cent, with a decrease of 9.5 per cent in the number of travellers from the US.
The report indicated that north America is still extremely important to the south-west as it attracts 42 per cent of all visitors to Ireland.
"Like the rest of Ireland we experienced a further decline in the numbers of high-spending American visitors. These realities will have to inform our planning for the years ahead," the chairman said, dismissing suggestions of overpricing in the region.
"The standards in the south -west are top class, and there's a price for every pocket. You'll get a very good bed-and-breakfast for €30 to €40 with en-suite in Killarney.
"Go to York or elsewhere in Britain and you'll see our standards are far ahead. We would be concerned about keeping the price right, but it's not bad at the moment," Cllr Courtney insisted.
According to the tourism body, a total of 1.5 million overseas visitors spent all or some of their stay in the Cork-Kerry region, estimating that a quarter of all out-of-state tourists visit the area.
"People won't just walk in. You have to encourage them. We spent €660,000 marketing our region last year and that has definitely been a major factor in keeping us ahead," Ms Moynihan said, adding that the organisation planned to take part in 60 promotions in 12 countries throughout the year.
"Figures show that by the end of March this year 60 per cent of UK people who went on holiday last year still hadn't made up their mind about their destination this year. So there are a lot of people to be won yet, to get them to come to the region," the chief executive said.