Have vistor numbers peaked?
Have a look at [broken link removed]: it's a map of all direct flights to/from Dublin airport.
I see loads of room for expansion of capacity there - you might say it's capacity that can't be filled - but I bet you Aer Lingus will make a reasonable success of at least another 3-4 US routes by the end of the decade (if the legalities are ever sorted). Dermot Mannions speciality is long haul aviation, so I would'nt be surprised if we see a few routes to Australia, South Africa or South East Asia open in the coming years.
Then what about Ryanair? The minute Dublin Airport is expanded (10yrs, 20yrs?, 40yrs? never!) O'Leary will launch another huge number of routes to Europe, after all the most profitable routes out of the 200 he currently operates are UK-Ireland routes based on Irish ex-pat regions.
That's just Dublin Airport, the other airports are going to see lots of meaningful growth in the coming years (since they gained some independence). Cork now has a new terminal to woo airlines to boost capacity.
Don't forget worldwide tourism is a growing sector and will continue to do so for the next 50yrs as increasing numbers of people from China, Eastern Europe and India attain enough disposable income to travel. Inevitablely some of this growth can be absorbed by Ireland.
Don't get me wrong, there's no room for complacency - and the old marketing ploy of leprechauns simply won't suffice any more - but if we follow a logical path of ever improved service, increased choice, more facilities and try to maintain current price levels or reduce them if possible - then we should do very handsomely in the next few years from tourism.