Whether it’s dubbed “ancestry travel,” “heritage travel,” or “genealogy travel,” there’s a new driver in the tourism sector taking us towards our pasts, our forebears, and the paths they once trod. Condé Nast Traveler has put the phenomenon of ancestry travel in its top trends for 2026, citing popular culture influences such as TV’s Who Do You Think You Are? as well as the feeling that, despite social media claims, we might be increasingly disconnected from each other and from “real” experiences. One of the experiences consumers are seeking out, travel industry stakeholders say, is the deeper exploration of our own sense of self, our backgrounds, and our families.
Destinations that have sent a huge diaspora abroad in previous decades or centuries are now among the major beneficiaries of ancestry travel. Ireland lost an estimated two million to mass emigration during the Great Famine (1845-1852), and nearly five million to the United States in the 110 years between 1820 and 1930, according to some sources, resulting in an Irish American population of around 30 million today. It is no coincidence then that the US is Irish tourism’s most important source market after the UK, with a significant visitor spend contributing substantially to the economy.
Likewise, Italy, where poverty, politics, and harsh land management systems led tens of millions of Italians to abandon the country from the early 19th century onwards, only some of them returned to live there. Experts estimate that between 1880 and 1980, about 15 million Italians had left the country permanently (and a third brain drain or “fuga di Cervelli” wave of emigration is said to be going on now due to economic uncertainty). Italy consistently places fourth or fifth in global rankings for visitor arrivals.
According to India’s Ministry of Tourism, millions of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) visit India yearly, with recent trends showing significant growth, particularly in the Visiting Friends and Relatives segment, predicted to reach over 10 million arrivals in 2025 and 15 million by 2030, with the US, UK, and Middle East big source markets.
Of course, the idea of following a genealogical path back home is nothing new for enslaved African American populations forcibly removed from their homelands. The 1976 novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family influenced some to make a return journey. It was made into a 1970s miniseries and remade in 2016, sparking a new interest in ancestral connection and belonging. Well-known figures such as Beyoncé, Idris Elba, Michelle Obama, and Oprah have shared their own “roots” travel pilgrimages, prompting others to make trips too. Destinations associated with the slave trade, such as Kunta Kinteh Island in Gambia, and cultural events such as Afrochella or initiatives such as Ghana’s Year of Return, have sprung up in response to demand.
Ancestry travel can be about a house, a village, a region, or a nation. It can entail a visit to the site of a factory where a loved one spent their working life, or a beloved holiday home. It can be the result of family anecdotes, a single faded photograph, deep genealogical research via sites such as familysearch.org, or perhaps stem from direct-to-consumer DNA and genetics searches via platforms like 23andMe. Increasingly, tour operators and guides are providing ancestry travel services, putting together itineraries from archival information and on-the-ground investigation. Wherever the phenomenon takes us, the discoveries might be uncannily familiar—and that is the point of the investment, and its meaningful return.
