Hotel business in Co Donegal never recovered from TV coverage in the US of foot-and-mouth disease despite the best efforts of Bord Failte, according to the local branch of the Irish Hotels Federation.
The branch secretary, Mr Paul Diver, said business was down on average by 25 per cent. "Experts had predicted that American business would come back again and that the shoulder season in September and October would be good, but that definitely isn't happening," he said.
Initiatives by local tourism bodies to attract more home visitors had been "a saving grace".
The manager of North West Tourism, Mr Paul McLoone, said he did not believe the season had gone as badly as many people had predicted. "The doomsday scenario of business being down by 50 or 60 per cent certainly did not happen," he said.
Tourism in the towns of Sligo, Letterkenny and Bundoran, which were well served with hotel accommodation, had stood up relatively well. But rural areas, such as west Donegal and south Sligo, had been affected, with many bed-and-breakfasts reporting a 15 per cent drop in business.
People relying on specialist interest holidays in the countryside such as angling and hillwalking had been hardest hit and lost 20 to 30 per cent of business.
Mr McLoone said he believed a marketing campaign both north and south of the Border had attracted more Irish visitors, and this had helped make up for the loss of overseas business which did not recover later in the season.
Business from Northern Ireland, which traditionally made up 40 per cent of the market in the north-west, might have helped shield the region, particularly because of the strength of sterling this summer.