Tourism minister John O'Donoghue said last week that the state would provide the new funds in an effort to achieve a better balance between the urban and rural tourism sectors.

The centrepiece of the new initiative is a 3m marketing campaign to promote three so-called 'super regions'. Most of the money will be spent in the British market.

But Alex Gibson, head of the department of tourism at Dublin Institute of Technology and a specialist in tourism marketing, argues that this type of exercise will only make sense if tourism bodies opt for a second Irish brand.

"There is a de facto Dublin brand . . . so we need a credible proposition that would act as a good alternative to Dublin."

Local tourism agencies previously spent funds promoting their own areas, but there is now a recognition that this scattergun approach no longer makes sense. Last year, three local agencies along the west coast pooled their resources to create a targeted campaign. This model has now been extended throughout the Republic.

The new 'super regions' are Ireland East (Dublin, the east coast and midlands), Ireland South (the south east, Cork and Kerry) and Ireland West (Shannon, Ireland West and North-West). Each region will get 1m in state support for a new advertising campaign that will run as part of the Discover Ireland series in Britain.

Tourism Ireland chief executive Paul O'Toole said it makes most sense to focus on the British market, since consumers there "have the best geographic sense of Ireland".

As yet, no decision has been taken about how to brand the 'super regions' in the new campaign. There are problems with using the terms given to the super regions because they could be misinterpreted. Holidaymakers might reasonably expect Kerry to be in Ireland west, while Ireland south simply means the 26 counties to many British people. O'Toole is aware of the potential pitfalls.

"We certainly don't want to confuse people, " he said.

The new ads, part of Tourism Ireland's 40m overseas marketing spend this year, will begin in April. O'Toole hopes the industry will contribute about 1.5m to this year's 'super regions' campaign.

But Alex Gibson of DIT argues that, if the state is serious about promoting regional tourism, then it should create a new alternative brand for that part of the market. He suggests Atlantic Ireland as an option.

Gibson claims that this could work well abroad, since much of the perception of Ireland as a rural holiday destination already centres on the west coast. As a brand, Atlantic Ireland would easily conjure images of fresh air, rugged coastlines and crashing waves.

Several other countries operate similar strategies to differentiate certain parts of their tourism product, and Gibson is convinced that Ireland will eventually follow that route.

Adopting such a strategy would be fraught with political controversy because the reaction of tourism players in the south-east or Wicklow to an Atlantic Ireland brand seems sure to be hostile.

Yet marketing experts would argue that you must have clarity to convey a strong message, and that trying to promote all of rural Ireland would not work as well in the long term.

Promoting rural holidays has been a key problem for Tourism Ireland in recent years because consumers are taking shorter breaks, usually focused on urban locations.

O'Toole said the new campaign would be closely directed towards regions in Britain and elsewhere that have direct access to rural parts of Ireland. He argues that Ireland's competitive position has improved in recent years, as costs in other locations have increased.

"We can offer a quality experience at a reasonable price, " he claimed.

DIT's Gibson argues that effective packaging of the product will be vital to increasing tourism into the regions. City breaks only require a flight and a hotel, whereas a rural break is generally more complicated, often requiring car hire and possibly accommodation in two or more locations.

"Packaging is crucial, " he said. "You need to be able to book all the components in one site visit."

To help the rural industry promote such packages, about 1m will go towards a new local area marketing fund that will encourage providers to come together. This money will be distributed by Failte Ireland, which will also be responsible for a new 1m innovation fund under the new scheme.

Chief executive Shaun Quinn argues that the compilation of a new database of all the attractions, services and accommodation available in the Irish market should help those creating new rural holiday packages.

Failte Ireland is also responsible for promoting Irish holidays to the home market.

The recent boom in this area . . . the market has increased by 25% over the past years . . .

has also created a worrying trend for Ireland's rural tourism industry.

The home market now accounts for about two-thirds of all hotel bed nights outside Dublin, and most industry commentators believe that this leaves the rural sector far too dependent on the domestic economy.

Policy decisions will have to be made about how best to stimulate regional tourism.

Some believe those choices should be made now, while the market still has the safety net of buoyant domestic demand.