New North America Head for Tourism Ireland

In late April, Tourism Ireland announced that Alison Metcalfe, who is currently the U.S. vice president of marketing, will replace the long-serving Joe Byrne as head of Tourism Ireland North America on June 1.

Metcalfe has worked with Tourism Ireland and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board since 1992, initially in Canada. She was promoted to her current position in 2007, and led the recent U.S. review, “Make Ireland Jump Out.”

Prior to joining Tourism Ireland, Metcalfe worked with VisitBritain (formerly BTA) in London, Portugal and Toronto. North America is the island of Ireland’s second-largest tourism market, with close to one million visitors traveling to Ireland in 2012, generating $1 billion in revenue.