Kerry is bracing itself for a huge influx of visitors next weekend, with nearly half a million people expected to attend the 43rd Rose of Tralee festival and the all-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil in Listowel.
Thousands of musicians will perform at this year's Fleadh, and an estimated 200,000 people are expected to attend the three-day event in Listowel.
Outlying towns such as Ballybunion are completely booked out for the weekend, catering for both the Fleadh and the Rose festival, which also begins on Friday.
Minor events are taking place from Tuesday in Listowel.
Already traditional music fans have been forced to book accommodation as far south as Killarney and Abbeyfeale and Newcastle West in Limerick.
The number of visitors is being swelled by "unprecedented international interest", in the Fleadh, according to the chairman of the Listowel Fleadh Committee, Mr Michael Dowling. This year is also the 50th anniversary of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann.
To cater for the crowds, Listowel UDC has set up a campsite and caravan park, both within walking distance of the town centre. Fleadh Cheoil representatives will be on duty round the clock at both sites.
Tralee, meanwhile, will host one of the most colourful and lively festivals in its history with major floats, bands, Ibiza-style DJs and the return this year of a full catwalk fashion show in the Dome featuring top designers.
There is a strong Irish theme this year with heritage events, historic tours, an Irish club and, for the first time, a Ros Fodhla, an Irish-speaking rose category.
Some 200,000 people are expected to attend the festival over the five days, and organisers are hopeful that the American attendance, which accounts for most of the 26 per cent of total foreign visitor numbers, will hold up, despite the foot-and-mouth crisis.
"The indications so far are good. We have a lot of Americans booked into B&Bs and hotels," Ms Noreen Cassidy, chief executive of the Rose of Tralee, said.
Meanwhile, Dingle is to host the Figaro Solitaire Regatta, one of the main races in the European nautical calender which arrives on Tuesday. The 38-boat Figaro Yacht race comes to west Kerry directly from Brittany.
Competitors leave for the longest leg of the race on Saturday, heading for the port of Txingudi Hendaye Fontarrabie in the Gulf of Gascony. They will have completed 1,744 miles by the end of August.
It will be accompanied to Dingle by TV crews, radio crews, and marketing agencies. A French naval vessel accompanying the race will be open to the public from Wednesday to Friday.
Cdr Brian Farrell, harbour master at Dingle, says the town has worked for three years to attract the prestigious event, and the spin-off in terms of advertising the Ireland abroad would prove valuable.