There is no plague, there will be no immersion in disinfectant baths and visitors do not need gas masks, notes Shannon Development's new summer guide to the midwest region.
But the efforts to undo the negative publicity will not prevent the tourism spend in the region dropping more than £60 million on the £300 million normally spent, according to Mr John Leonard, the agency's tourism development officer.
"Some of the reactions from overseas have been so over the top. The impact will actually come down the line. It will really be May onwards that we will see it," he said.
The biggest trigger for the anticipated downturn was the postponement of St Patrick's Day parades, which was flashed on news bulletins across the world, and turned what is traditionally the beginning of the tourism season into an international turn-off.
The immediate effect has been on traffic from Britain which is 20 per cent down for Aer Lingus, though the main impact has been on its Dublin Airport business, according to Mr Tom McInerney, manager in Shannon. Current bookings for US traffic to the Co Clare airport are down by 5 per cent. "The concern would be for future bookings rather than what has happened up to now. If we hold out for another fortnight and stay free of foot-and-mouth, things could return to normal," he said.
With the Expo 2001 parade on May 5th now incorporating aspects of the cancelled St Patrick's Day parade in Limerick, Mr Leonard is hoping it will galvanise a new marketing campaign and try to replace some of the lost overseas tourism with short-term domestic tourism.
"The visible part of Ireland's tourism is the accommodation sector, hotels and bed and breakfasts. For every £25 spent in that category, £75 is spent on petrol, food, drink, beverages. This is the year when the connection between tourism and all other sectors is most visible."
Most businesses anticipate this year's season will be muted. "I would think that this will impact on almost every business throughout the region and particularly in rural areas, and they are the people who will feel it most. The message was: `Do not /visit the countryside'. The west of Ireland is the countryside, so it was a negative message going out. The message now is: `Do not visit farmyard premises'. "
Some hotels with a niche clientele have been hit worse than others, according to Ms Mary Fitzgerald, of Fitzgerald's Woodlands House Hotel in Adare. Currently president of the Irish Hotels Federation, she said some of the 86 federation members in the region, including guesthouses, relied solely on activity weekend holidaymakers.
Last week, Shannon Development distributed 20,000 of the new summer guides, detailing the attractions which are open. There are 223 listed in Clare, Limerick, north Kerry, north Tipperary and south Offaly, according to Mr Leonard. They include angling, River Shannon and Lough Derg cruises and horse-riding.
Most attractions are open again, including major ones such as the folk park at Bunratty and the Cliffs of Moher. Normally, up to 3,000 people a week visit the Ailwee Cave in the Burren, and the attraction was badly affected by school tour cancellations.
In the same area, the Burren Way, a 26-mile hill walker's route between Liscannor and Ballyvaughan, is closed. Wandering on the Burren, where there are cattle and wild goats, is not recommended. Walking tour organisers have shut down as have horse trail operators. "We are not supposed to ride through any areas where susceptible animals have had access. In fairness to farmers, you cannot expect them to allow you through their land," said Mr John Queally of the Burren Riding Centre.
Equestrian centres, however, have reopened. Ms Sue Foley is chief instructor at Clonshire Equestrian Centre, in Co Limerick, and chairwoman of Equestrian Holidays Ireland, which represents 30 centres. She said the Adare-based centre suffered from a loss of domestic customers but kept foreign visitors because they had pre-booked.