Fáilte Ireland has said economic conditions could make 2008 a more difficult year for overseas visitors in Ireland.
Speaking to tourism groups in Limerick, Fáilte Chief Executive Shaun Quinn said he could not ignore the potential impact of stock market volatility and exchange rate movements on the tourism business.
However, he said it was too early to speculate exactly what the impact would be.
Mr Quinn said the priority in Ireland should be to continue to minimise costs but not quality for international visitors.
The warning comes on the back of a decline of 3% in the numbers of overseas visitors coming to the Shannon region in 2007, on the previous year.
Tourism Ireland Chief Executive Paul O'Toole acknowledged the particular challenges posed in the region by the transition to Open Skies, in the context of difficult trading conditions in the US and other key markets.
Both he and Mr Quinn welcomed the €3m in extra funding announced by Tourism Minister Séamus Brennan to promote tourism to the west of Ireland in a post Open Skies market.
Tourism Ireland and Shannon Development have formed a working group to draw up a marketing plan for the Shannon catchment area to deal with the implications of Open Skies and decide a strategy about how best to distribute the additional Government marketing fund.
