The World Tourism Organisation predicts that 2003 will be a flat year for global tourism and only forecasts the number of visitors to Europe to grow by less than 1%. Based on its analysis, Europe has fared better than the Americas or the Asia-Pacific regions which were affected more severely by the war in Iraq and SARS. The latest figures for tourism to Ireland show an increase in visitor numbers of over 3% for the first six months of the year. The best market intelligence available suggests that this level of growth may be sustained for the year as a whole. On these figures alone, Ireland's performance this year is positive. Ireland has seen an increase in visitor numbers in some of our key markets, including the very important British market. This represents a strong endorsement of the marketing strategies being pursued by the State tourism agencies.