Irish tourism is increasingly becoming an urban phenomenon, which does not bode well for the vulnerable northwest and west regions, writes John G O'Dwyer
There are people who believe the great outdoors is best enjoyed in solitude, but don't count me among their number. I prefer a walking route lined with possibilities for human encounter.
And so it was with some sense of loss that during the autumn I rambled almost 35km on two of our best-known walking routes - the Sheep's Head Way from Finn McCool's seat to Bantry and the Dingle Way from Camp to Blennerville - without meeting a soul.
Such solitude contrasted starkly with a visit this summer to north Wales. Here we shared the summit of the Glyders with hundreds of others, queued to cross famous Cribgoch Ridge towards Snowdon, and were never short of company while rambling the tranquil countryside around Beddgelert.
Of course this isn't surprising. While Ireland offers recreational tourism by emphasising city breaks, visitor attractions, culture and nightlife, the Welsh Tourist Board has nailed its colours firmly to the mast of activity holidays.
In 2003 61 per cent of overseas visitors to Wales participated in hillwalking/hiking, while UK visitors made 7.3 million trips on which they partook of walking activities.
The comparable figure for Ireland was 168,000 participants in hillwalking/hiking from the UK and other overseas destinations, representing fewer than 4 per cent of total visitors - and a decline of almost half on the 1993 figure.
It isn't just in the already well-publicised area of hillwalking that we are rapidly losing market share. The number of overseas participants in rural-based activity holidays has fallen generally - from 408,000 to 212,000 between 1993 and 2003 for equestrian pursuits, cycling and angling.
With just a slight blip around 9/11, visitor numbers to Ireland have risen steadily for 20 years, with overseas visitors exceeding 6.5 million for the first time last year.
This seems reassuring until we examine how the national tourism cake is divided. In 2003, Dublin absorbed almost a third of the total national tourism spend, while the southeast and midlands-east regions are increasing their market share. However, a Tourism Industry Confederation report shows that our weaker economic regions - where tourism is of greater economic importance - are slowly being elbowed from the tourism party.
While total bed nights have increased in Dublin by 41 per cent in the last five years, occupancies have fallen by a worrying 21 per cent in the west and northwest, and by a disastrous 39 per cent in the Shannon region.
And even within these areas, tourism tends to be concentrated on urban centres such as Galway, Westport and Limerick, with Fáilte Ireland now admitting that rural B&Bs are going out of business at an unprecedented rate.
In Wales the situation is different. The generally mountainous, less economically developed northern half of Wales is in many ways equivalent to Ireland's less developed Border/midlands/west region.
The crucial difference is that it attracts 47 per cent of total Welsh tourism spending. Unlike the Irish experience, tourism there is still strongly rooted in rural areas. In contrast to the many large, modern and mostly urban hotels in Ireland, the Welsh countryside is replete with cosy guesthouses, B&Bs, campsites, caravan parks and self-catering cottages, many of which are clearly income supplements to a working farm.
And each morning in villages across north Wales you will see streets filled with hillwalkers, rock climbers, mountain bikers and other outdoor enthusiasts setting off for a day in the countryside.
In Ireland you are more likely to see visitors heading off each morning in rented cars to enjoy the rural scenery on a relatively costless and passive day trip, the only rural expenditure being, perhaps, coffee and a sandwich. Then, as evening approaches, they flock back to the cities to spend on hospitality and entertainment - and lend further support to those of us who argue that Irish tourism is transforming itself into an urban phenomenon.
A major crisis is looming for tourism in the west, with a clear need for action to redress the increasing east/west divide in tourism income. The west no longer exploits its natural advantage as an ideal location for activity-based holidays. Rural communities must come round - as they clearly have in Wales - to recognising the economic advantage of allowing responsible access to the countryside for hillwalkers, mountain bikers, pony trekkers, anglers and other activity-seeking visitors.
If the problems regarding access and, indeed, drift-netting, are resolved, a strong case could be made for skewing tourism investment towards the west and proactively supporting the development of rural-based activity holidays. This would help reverse the trend towards the urbanisation of our tourism industry by reigniting tourism as a vibrant rural phenomenon driving small businesses.
John G O'Dwyer is a hillwalker and mountain climber and is a travel consultant for incoming tourism