Ireland 'too expensive for American tourists'

Ireland has become too expensive a destination for Americans, according to US tour operators.

The news came as Bord Failte's 2002 budget to promote Ireland across the Atlantic dried up months ahead of schedule.

The tourist authority has nothing left after pumping everything into attracting Americans back after September 11. Bob Whitley, president of the US Tour Operators Association, said maintaining the compulsory Shannon stopover could prove disastrous for transatlantic into Ireland.