An Taisce has warned that Ireland is in danger of "going the way of the Costas" if commercialism wins out over the environment, culture and heritage.
The organisation says there is huge potential to create a uniquely Irish product which would support conservation and traditional skills.
It is, however, increasingly worried about the negative impact tourism is having on the Irish environment in landmark places such as Killarney, Mullaghmore, and some of the Cavan lakes, said Mr John Ducie, vice-chairman of An Taisce.
A lack of direction, where no body oversaw the balance between development and heritage/environment, threatened to undermine the industry, he said. Some high-quality country houses were in danger of being little more than commercial spaces and golf courses.
"Ireland is in real danger of going the way of the Costas, of going down market rather than up market," Mr Ducie said.
Wales, Scotland and the UK, with similar landscape, were offering increased competition. While the landscape here was being "eroded" by tourism, areas such as the Lake District in England, had "powerful agents" independent of government to ensure a balance between development and the environment.
An Taisce is drawing up policies on tourism. It is calling on the Department tourism to "become responsible for more than just the promotional and infrastructural aspects" of the industry.
As with English Heritage, the British Tourist Authority and the National Trust in the UK legislation for the NGO sector [non-governmental organisations\] to own and manage heritage for the people was necessary, said Mr David Owen, a sustainable tourism consultant working with An Taisce on policies.
There needed to be a cross-Department approach with the Department of the Environment, for instance, making the tourism industry more accountable. Dúchas, too, needed a wider remit.
Overdevelopment in Killarney, proposals for interpretative centres at the Cliffs of Moher and so on, the rezoning of an area adjoining a special area of conservation at Inchydoney Island in Co Cork were examples of the way tourism could harm a product for short-term commercial gain, he said.
"Tourism has been allowed to develop organically, without guidance, and the negative impact is starting to show," Mr Owen said.
A charge on national parks and other areas will be one of the proposed policies put forward by An Taisce. "The problem at the moment is all these places are free. People are not going to appreciate heritage unless they put money back into it," he said.
Mr Donal Guilfoyle, manager of environment and regional co-ordination with Bord Fáilte, said Ireland was not heading the way of the Costas. Statistics from the Central Statistics Office showed satisfaction levels were as high as ever. Bord Fáilte was not just a marketing agency, it was a prescribed body and commented on development in major tourist areas.