Dublin: Ireland will today turn the Empire State Building and London Eye green in a St Patrick's Day drive to lure tourists back after visitor numbers slumped to a five-year low.

The two attractions are among global landmarks that will be floodlit green as part a $1.4 million celebration of Ireland's national day. Visits to Ireland fell 12 per cent to 6.9 million in 2009.

"It's a response to the difficult climate we found ourselves in," Tourism Ireland Chief Executive Officer Niall Gibbons said in an interview at his Dublin office. "It's going to be a long hard road in 2010."

Tourism accounts for about 4 per cent of Ireland's economy and sustains about 128,000 jobs. The drop in tourist numbers has undermined sales at hotels, restaurants and bars, compounding the country's worst recession in its modern history. The economy will probably shrink for a third straight year in 2010, the government has forecast.

"It's been pretty horrendous," said John Power, chief executive of the Dublin-based Irish Hotels Federation. "We are a long way from being out of the woods yet."

Last year's decline in tourism numbers included a 16 per cent drop in visitors from the UK., Ireland's biggest market.

The pound has slumped about 14 per cent against the euro in the last two years, making Ireland more expensive for British travellers.

Bubble

Visits from North America declined 2.4 per cent last year, while European numbers fell 8.7 per cent, as tourists sidestepped one of the most expensive countries in the region. After a decade-long economic boom, Irish prices were the second-highest in the European Union by 2006, according to the government- appointed National Competitiveness Council.

"Ireland is perceived as very expensive," said John McKenna, author of the Bridgestone Guide to Ireland. "That was the downside of our bubble. We suffered with a runaway economy."

Many four-star hotels are now slashing their room rates by about 30 per cent, said the IHF's Power. The 200-room, five-star Ritz-Carlton Powerscourt in Wicklow, which has a Gordon Ramsay restaurant and 36-hole golf course, is offering three nights for the price of two and seven nights for the price of four, starting at 250 euros per night.

Tourism Ireland is holding a "sales blitz" this month targeting tour operators, travel agents and airlines in cities such as New York, Boston and Chicago tour operators. The agency is also taking part in the St. Patrick's Day parades in New York and Los Angeles in a bid to promote Ireland.

Helping the Irish push for attention, Toronto's CN Tower and the Sydney Opera House will also be green for the holiday.