Ireland & the Heritage Travel Trend: How to Capitalize on the Growing Demand for Ancestry Tours

Everyone wants to be Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. The annual celebration of Ireland’s patron saint has expanded in the U.S. and Canada, and is now a secular holiday marked by cartoon shamrocks, green Guinness beer and pub crawls.

But don’t let the festivities fool you: There are plenty of Americans and Canadians with ancestral ties to Ireland seeking a more meaningful way to connect with their family history. 

Heritage (or “roots”) travel — clients looking to visit countries they have ancestral connections to — is on the rise, thanks in part to the popularization of DNA-based ancestry kits and genealogy services like Ancestry.com.

In fact, Kensington launched its Personal Heritage Journeys product in partnership with Ancestry.com in March 2021. 

“Kensington Tours launched Personal Heritage Journeys as a way to provide the most personal, in-depth and privately guided exploration of a client’s family roots,” said Amanda Wells, director of product, Kensington. “These trips really started to gain in popularity in 2022 once the pandemic ended and travel restrictions were lifted globally.”

Travel advisors are seeing the demand rise as well, with European countries like Ireland and  Italy leading the charge.

“This trend has grown in the past few years, with people booking these kinds of vacations in a variety of ways,” Adam Duckworth, president and founder of Travelmation, told Fox News Digita (via NY Post).

“Some clients come to us with years of research, and they want to spend weeks overseas totally devoted to their family history.”

Ireland Ancestry Travel: What Clients Are Booking

Kensington, an award-winning tour operator known for its tailor-made private tours, told TMR that Ireland is one of its top destinations for their ancestry tours.

“Ireland is one of the most popular destinations for these kinds of trips and we can customize the trip based on how deep the client wants to go into the history of their family tree,” said Wells.

Kensington’s Personal Heritage Journeys combine the resources offered by Ancestry with the tour operator’s expertise in curating custom private guided luxury trips.

“While we have itineraries on our website that serve as inspiration, we tailor each trip to the client’s specific needs, interests and budget,” explained Wells. “For example, we can add an on-site genealogist to any of the days, and include any sites or locales that are relevant to anyone’s family story.”

Tom Casey, founder of Old Sod Travel, told TMR that travelers are drawn to ancestry tours because they want to better understand their roots — not so much their specific family history.

“We do sell ancestry travel to Ireland but we like to define it much more broadly,” Casey explained. “Many of our guests are of Irish descent yet aren’t necessarily drawn to visit the ‘old family farm.’ For them, Ireland in itself is an enriching and rewarding destination to understand their heritage.”    

Casey started Old Sod Travel in 2012 to help travelers book golf trips to Ireland. Over the years, the tour operator has grown considerably, expanding to offer elevated, bespoke experiences to Ireland, the British Isles, and, more recently, Scandinavia, Germany and Spain.

Today, travel advisors can depend on Old Sod Travel for bespoke tours that are fully customer-driven and based on the client’s preferences, including specific likes and requirements. 

“Every single 5-star accommodation, restaurant, walking tour guide, car and driver are visited and vetted by us,” said Casey.

“We have staff on the ground in Dublin to respond in real-time for questions, reservations, and any urgent needs. Travel advisors can be confident that their clients are in excellent hands with Old Sod Travel and Old Sod Golf in Ireland, as well as to each of our destinations,” he added.

Irish Ancestry Travel Trends: Multi-gen Groups & Extended Season

Both Old Sod and Kensington told TMR that the ancestry tours to Ireland are popular with muli-generational group travel

“We saw a dramatic increase overall in multi-gen travel [post-pandemic] as families really looked to reconnect through travel after many months, and in some cases years, without traveling,” said Wells. 

While multi-gen and small groups of friends are Old Sod’s largest market for ancestral travel, Kensington told TMR that it also sees couples booking Personal Heritage Journeys.

“It’s such a wonderful way to learn about and celebrate the family’s roots and history while also having the opportunity to explore the country and be together as a family,” said Wells.

While ancestry tours in Ireland are steadily in demand, Casey told TMR that travelers are booking later into the fall shoulder season.  

“An interesting shift we’ve seen of late is a longer travel season, pushing well into late November,” he said. “It’s actually a lovely time to be Ireland as it’s less crowded in the larger cities, and the weather can still be mild.”