IRELAND'S leading Shannon cruise company has confirmed it is removing more than 30 of its boats from the famous river ahead of the summer season but insists it is not a reflection of the falling tourist trade.

Emerald Star is in the process of moving the boats to bases in the UK, France, Italy and Holland but claims this is standard procedure reflecting supply and demand.

However, tourism experts in the region have said that they are expecting the coming season to be "challenging", given the global recession.

A statement from Emerald Star last week said: "It has been decided to move 30-plus boats out of Ireland to a new base they intend to open at Horling in the UK and to some bases at Holland, France and Italy. This is to tailor for confirmed bookings in those locations."

They added that the move was down to new cruise routes being opened up and not a lack of business. The cruise operator will maintain around 500 boats on the Shannon-Erne waterway.

"It is important to note there are no redundancies. Bookings remain constant year-on-year and there is still availability although key holidays like the May bank holiday and Easter were sold out."

Fáilte Ireland said it was impossible to predict the coming season on the River Shannon, one of Ireland's most popular tourist attractions, where about 20,000 people take part in river cruising every year.

"In terms of prospects for the season ahead, there is no doubt that 2009 will be a challenging year but there is great potential within the home market," it said.

"Our research shows more people will holiday at home this year and we have engaged in our biggest home holiday campaign to date.

"It is too early to say how the cruising product or any other product will perform this season as it will be towards the end of the year before we will have an idea of numbers and be able to gauge performance."