Tourist numbers have reduced significantly this year but following the foot and mouth disease outbreak there was a great reaction on the part of the Irish people to support the tourism industry. However, this year most people have sought to travel abroad, particularly because of the bad weather during the summer. They cannot be blamed for doing so because it is cheaper to fly a few hundred miles to Spain than to say in a hotel in Ireland for a week. There is no point in whingeing and moaning that foreigners are not coming to Ireland because it must be attractive for them to do so.