Coming from Kerry I am conscious that the North American market is particularly important for many sectors of the tourism industry. There were difficulties increasing our marketing returns in this market during the peak season because of reductions in direct air capacity. In view of the high load factors and pricing on the American routes, I did not favour putting extra resources into the US market during the peak period. However, I did consider that it would be worth pursuing some of the traditional autumn business. In order to support that campaign and to help kick-start the 2003 campaign, I travelled to the United States in October on a promotional visit to Chicago and New York where I met key players in the tourism trade there and carried out a number of media promotions in order to add whatever political weight I could to Tourism Ireland's efforts to reverse the downturn in this vital market.