What tourists visiting Ireland really want, according to Eamon Ryan, of Irish Cycling Safaris, is a "genuine encounter" with the country and its people. And he says the tourism enterprises offering that kind of experience are the ones doing really well this summer.
"The season is poor, not because of the weather or the World Cup, but because we've lost many of the independent European travellers who would spend two or three weeks here. And the reason is that we're not really providing what the advertisements say we're providing."
While this has been "devastating" for hotels, guesthouses and bed-and-breakfast accommodation, Mr Ryan says "alternative tourism" enterprises such as his are thriving because they are providing what an increasingly large segment of the market wants. They include Michael Gibbons in Clifden, who runs Connemara Walking Tours; Oideas Gael in Glencolumbkille, which combines traditional music, walking and archaeological tours; and the Dublin Literary Pub Crawl, another good, genuine "product". About 40,000 visitors a year are now coming to Ireland just to go cycling. And contrary to the image cyclists may have, Mr Ryan points out that they include well-heeled people from the US and elsewhere who are among the biggest spenders, bigger even than golfers.
Irish Cycling Safaris has seven tours running at the moment in Donegal, Wicklow, Cork, Kerry, Clare, Mayo and Connemara. And despite traffic congestion in the capital, Dublin Bike Tours is able to offer guided cycle tours three times a day. Another company with an environmentally sustainable product is Railtours Ireland. It is offering long-distance tours from Dublin by train, leaving in the morning and returning that night, although because of the truncated rail network it inevitably includes a tour bus, too.
Apart from offering such staples as Connemara and the Ring of Kerry, Railtours Ireland does Donegal and the Causeway Coast, by train from Dublin to Belfast and Derry, then by bus through the mountains of Donegal and onward to Sligo, returning from there to Dublin by train.
A more hands-on experience is offered by Conservation Volunteers Ireland, which organises work-camps for people of all ages to help create and conserve wildlife habitats, improve public access to the countryside, maintain heritage sites and keep alive traditional skills.
At the upper end of the market some of the country houses in Ireland's Blue Book, notably Ballymaloe, Co Cork, Coopershill, Co Sligo, and Tinakilly, Co Wicklow, have been pioneering the use of natural reed-bed sewage treatment systems which benefit the environment.
Meanwhile, the Irish Landmark Trust is giving tourists a chance to experience unusual elements of Ireland's architectural heritage by restoring historic buildings for short-term letting. Three projects have been completed so far, including the old lighthouse on Wicklow Head.
So if you want to "get in touch" with the real Ireland, just telephone the following:
Connemara Walking Tours (095) 21379.
Conservation Volunteers Ireland (01) 668-1844.
Dublin Bike Tours (01) 6790899.
Ireland's Blue Book (046) 23416.
Irish Cycling Safaris (01) 2600749.
Irish Landmark Trust (01) 670-4733.
Oideas Gael (073) 30248.
Railtours Ireland (01) 8560045.