Tourism in the south-east remains buoyant and has recorded a better performance than other regions in the Republic this summer.
In a survey of all sectors of the industry in Ireland, conducted on behalf of Bord Fáilte, the south-east emerged as the region least affected up to the end of August by the overall downturn in business which followed the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York.
Half of the respondents questioned indicated that their business was as good if not better than in 2001, with hotels and self-catering seeming to have done best. This compares with six in every 10 operators surveyed in Dublin, the west and north-west, who reported that business eas down this year.
Last year, total tourism earnings in the south-east reached a record €511 million. In the period from 1995 to 2001 the south-east performed better than the other tourism regions in the State, increasing its share of the national market by 1 per cent to climb to an overall share of 11 per cent.
Mr Joe Palmer, the chief executive of South-East Tourism, highlighted the benefits of the fine weather during September.
"According to Met Éireann, this September was the driest in 16 years and the warmest in Rosslare in 31 years, helping to encourage people to take additional short holiday breaks and activity weekends away. Because of the strength of the domestic tourism base in this region, the south-east has done well in this regard."
Mr Palmer pointed out that the plan for next year was to focus on the British market and to increase car-ferry traffic further.
He emphasised the importance of major sporting events, particularly evident at Mount Juliet in Co Kilkenny, where Tiger Woods was victorious, in attracting more golfing visitors to the south-east region.