The 36th Ryder Cup is due to tee off at the K Club in Kildare this week, and could provide a huge windfall for the Irish tourism industry.

Failte Ireland, the national tourism development authority, is claiming that the event could generate around Euro130m (£88m, US$164m) – based on economic impact studies from the Ryder Cup held at The Belfry in 2002 – with golf tourism the key driver.

The body has defended its figure in the light of recent criticism from the American firm, Anderson Economic Group (AEG), which claims that Euro43m (£29m, US$54m) is a more realistic estimate.

AEG's report says: "It seems unreasonable to believe that an event spanning less than a week can generate an economic impact amounting to more than 90 per cent of the impact from a full year's worth of golfers visiting Ireland."

John O'Donoghue, minister for sport, arts and tourism, said he had "no reason to dispute" Failte Ireland's projection, although he stressed the importance of not cashing in at the expense of long term gains.

Concerns exist that inflated prices might put off future visitors, particularly from the lucrative US and European markets, which have been targeted through a Euro3.5m (£2.4m US$4.4m) TV campaign.

The long term benefits will be assessed by a team of consultants led by Deloitte.