The bulk of Kerry's tourism industry has escaped unscathed by the sharp downturn in US tourists visiting Ireland following the September 11th attacks. Only those products frequently used by US visitors are being hit.
Tourism, at the heart of Kerry's economy, has had a number of setbacks this year after unprecedented growth in the 1990s.
Some 3.2 million foreign and domestic visitors came to the Cork/Kerry region last year. (In 1996, the figure was 2.6 million visitors.) About 5,000,000 come from north America, many in the shoulder seasons of May and October.
Around one-third of the Americans are not travelling right now, with empty seats on coach tours which have managed to travel.
The top end of the market, the five-star hotels and the choice guesthouses, has been badly affected, with earlier than expected winter closures and "most people on an overdraft for the winter", according to one five-star guesthouse owner.
There are a number of long established guesthouses on the property market in Killarney.
This, however, may reflect a desire to change from the hectic lifestyle of running a B&B as much as perhaps a "get out now while we can" attitude.
Coach tour operators and gift shops have also been set back .
Yet others in the market are holding their nerve. A new £30 million tourism development is going ahead near Kenmare, and £10 million is being invested in the Great Southern Hotel in Killarney.
"The current situation has certainly hit the products that would be most frequented by American visitors," said Mr Declan Murphy, tourism officer in south Kerry. However the bulk of the industry has escaped and tourism is still booming in Kerry, with large numbers of Irish and British holidaymakers.
This is supported by the fact that advertisements for staff in hotels have not ceased and foreign workers - of which there are around 1,200 ( about 20 to 25 per cent of the workforce) in the catering industry in Killarney - have not returned home.
The workers from Malaysia and other countries at the Gleneagle Hotel, for instance, have "made a huge contribution" and the hotel has adverts at present for staff in certain sections, according to Mr Patrick O'Donoghue, manager of the hotel and a Bord Fβilte director.
He said that while in the short-term his hotel has not been affected, the worry is for next year.
Mr Denis Moylan, the chief executive of CRC International, a recruitment company which deals mainly with the service industry, said early closures in some sectors meant he could avoid the "panic" of last autumn when employers were desperate for staff with the return to college of student workers.
He said foreign staff have been quickly transferred to other establishments and there is no question of sending them home.
There is nervousness for next year but there are also solutions. And the switch to the euro should boost Ireland's attractiveness in this key market, Mr Murphy said.
"For 2002 Ireland should be perceived as a safe destination, which will be very important for the UK, Germany and French as they may be drawn more into future possible conflicts," said Mr Murphy.