As our visitors forsake the regions and we evolve from traditional offerings, tourism to Ireland needs a new map, writes Paul Cullen

The Government might have been moved to take action to centralise the national effort, but Irish tourism isn't in crisis - it just feels that way in some parts of the country.

In Dublin, where hordes of hen and stag parties still parade through Temple Bar each weekend, you would be forgiven for not noticing the problems. Elsewhere, though, a very different picture emerges.

While major towns are "doing okay", the west and the midlands are struggling, Eamonn McKeon, chief executive of the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation, admits. Numbers are down in B&Bs and guesthouses and - even in Dublin - saturation point has been reached in the budget hotel sector.

Visitor numbers are holding up, but those who come are spending less time and less money in the country. At the same time, costs keep rising, competition is intensifying and margins are being squeezed further.

As reported in The Irish Times during the week, the Minister responsible, John O'Donoghue, has accepted a consultants' report which would consolidate tourism marketing so that una voce was speaking for the country. In a way, this mirrors what has happened in the industry.

Tourism, which was once a force for the redistribution of wealth to poorer rural areas, is now increasingly concentrated on urban centres. The 1990s are already starting to look like a golden age of tourism, rather than a launch-pad for greater things to come, and official plans to see a doubling of the sector by 2012 seem highly optimistic.

"Maybe we had it too easy for a long time, because our two biggest markets were English-speaking," says McKeon. "We also had a free ride for a decade in relation to low-cost airlines, but there are hundreds of rival such destinations now."

This greater choice in global destinations, rapidly changing trends in booking and travel modes, and the uncertain spectre of terrorism are making the business harder to manage and forecast.

Fáilte Ireland itself admits the industry is now in "somewhat uncharted territory". "Past remedies are certainly no guarantee of future success - and there are no quick-fix solutions," the State's tourism promotion body admits in its 2005 programme of activities.

The tourists themselves have changed, as McKeon points out. They come for shorter breaks, book at the last moment and want to do much more than their more passive predecessors. However, their desires to walk, fish, shoot or simply learn about our heritage are colliding with the steamroller force of the Celtic Tiger.

We build a hotel opposite Trim Castle or a motorway through the Tara Valley and call it progress; tourists may see it differently. We allow disputes over access to the mountains to fester and wonder why the numbers coming to Ireland for walking holidays have halved.

It's the same story - that of environmental degradation having an impact on tourism - with salmon fishing. In the past five years, the number of salmon anglers has dropped 50 per cent. Patrick Devennie, who manages a salmon rod fishery on the Blackwater in Munster, speaks of a "total collapse" of his business, which he blames on drift-netting.

Six years ago, his customers took 216 salmon out of the river; this year, they caught just 38. Back then, he was booked up a year in advance and kept a lengthy waiting list; this summer, he was half-full. Seven groups of fishermen have cancelled, amid talk of a boycott of Ireland for its failure to take action.

"I was really quite shocked at the level of feeling. As a result of our Government's policy on drift-netting, we now have such a bad name among so many tourist fishermen that no amount of advertising will bring them back."

And while it may be a bit soon to write the obituary for the traditional Irish B&B, its problems are all too apparent.

"People find that it's almost as cheap to stay in a budget hotel as a bed and breakfast. And they say: 'This way I can have a few drinks and I won't have to drive'," McKeon remarks.

Globally, tourism grew by 10 per cent last year, compared to just 3.3 per cent in Ireland. The frequency and spread of terrorist attacks this year is likely to impede further growth, though no one is exactly sure how.

"Overall, I'd say it's a negative, even if we're not directly affected. Any insecurity is bad for travel," says McKeon. The good news is that the London bombings happened too late to deter many US visitors from crossing the Atlantic.

Although Irish people spend more on foreign holidays than they do at home, the domestic market is still critical. It's also very healthy, as this year's 25 per cent increase in attendances at the Galway races showed.

In the Burren, Simon Haden of Gregans Castle Hotel says the domestic market has made up for the downturn in US visitors this year. However, this has entailed a trend towards last-minute bookings and a greater emphasis on packages. Costs are up and yields are under pressure.

Ireland Inc needs a repackaging. The folksy images of Ireland traditionally employed to sell tourism are dying. John Hinde is but a distant memory. Even U2 may have outlived their usefulness as an emblematic image.

Dispensing with the shamrock, porter and thatched cottage images is easy enough, but what to replace them with - now that's a difficult question.

Crisis? Identity crisis? Well, not just yet . . .