Heritage Travel: Walking in the Footsteps of Your Ancestors

In an era where travelers crave deeper connections and more meaningful experiences, heritage travel has emerged as one of the fastest-growing niches in the travel industry. According to research from GlobalData, heritage tourism is expected to reach a market value of $7.5 billion this year, driven by travelers eager to explore their ethnic roots, trace family histories … and walk in the footsteps of their ancestors.

Whether a DNA test sparked curiosity or long-held family stories are finally being explored, today’s travelers are increasingly interested in blending their personal identities with their travel plans. Heritage travel taps into the broader trend of intentional, values-driven tourism ─ offering experiences that are emotional, educational, and transformative.

For travel advisors, this presents a powerful opportunity to create custom itineraries that go far beyond the typical tourist path, leveraging local connections, historical insights, and specialized tour operators. Not only does this allow advisors to showcase their value and creativity, but it also builds strong client loyalty. After all, helping someone connect with their roots is a deeply personal and memorable service.

That Very Spot, Five Generations Back

Imagine this …“We started in Dublin on a CIE Tour with about 50 people, but then our Travel Advisor Susan Becks arranged for us to rent a car and drive to County Cavan. We were making our way to Ballyconnell on what we called ‘good-luck roads’ (because they were very narrow), and all of a sudden, there’s this beautiful Gothic church. We got out, and a farmer from across the road invited us in for tea. He also happens to take care of the parish property. It was just like a scene out of John Wayne’s The Quiet Man. Everyone was friendly and open. Before we knew it, Father Phair appeared, looking like he came right out of central casting for a movie based in Ireland! And you could tell just how old the church was by the Celtic crosses in the cemetery.”

The church, called St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, was where Bird’s ancestors had been baptized, married, and buried for many generations. And Father Phair was there to renew Mike and his wife Jenny’s marriage vows on their 45^th anniversary on that very spot. All arranged as a surprise on their behalf by their travel advisor Becks. Mike also had the chance to meet with locals and learn about his family in the area.

That is how Mike further describes one of the best moments of their trip to Ireland to explore his Irish roots: “Everybody’s related, even though our names were not the same. Our names were changed and Americanized when our relatives immigrated, and my family eventually settled in Bethlehem, PA. But the most amazing thing on the trip to Ireland was seeing that my great-grandfathers five generations back were baptized at that very church in County Cavan.”

During their 10-day trip, the Birds explored all around the county and went to Galway. He remembers a particularly “wonderful dinner there where there was a lot of lamb and potatoes. The chef was also our driver. It’s all like family there.”

He goes on to say that they “didn’t have one bad day there. We saw sheep getting sheared. In Belfast, we went to the Titanic Museum ─ my wife is related to people who built the Titanic way, way, way back. Waterford was gorgeous. The only thing that was a little tense was in Northern Ireland. You know right away which side of the Isle you’re on ─ it just didn’t feel good there, and you had to keep your head on a swivel. We went to where it all happened on Sunday Bloody Sunday.”

But back to their joyful experiences, in Southern Ireland, Jenny Bird kissed the Blarney Stone, which was the most touristy thing the Birds did. Most of their trip was decidedly historical and culturally enlightening.

“Everyone is nice. The atmosphere is so relaxing,” remembers Mike. “You find the little pubs with performers. It’s a total sensory overload, with the peak smells, the scenery. You take a pause. We sat down one day and talked to a guy who was out walking his dog.”

This was a bucket-list trip for the Birds, following Mike’s retirement. They had traveled to Europe a few times before, to Paris and Switzerland, and to Third World countries. But this adventure had special meaning as they both reconnected deeply with their ancestral roots.

To Krakow and Back

One day shortly after the passing of her mom, Rose, Dianna Tesauro found a letter in her mom’s cedar chest. It was from Rose’s half-sister Anna, who lived in Poland and shared the same father Thomas. The discovery sent Dianna down a virtual rabbit hole that uncovered fascinating finds about her ancestors, all the way to Krakow and back to Ohio where she and her husband Joe live.

It was quite a story with many twists and turns, including the marriage and pregnancy of a young sixteen-year-old girl at the time of the German invasion, which led to some of Dianna’s ancestors fleeing to the U.S. while others stayed behind. Dianna’s family is Polish and all of her grandparents were from the same village of Mlyncziska.

Travel Advisor Susan Becks and her genealogist husband Paul helped Dianna plan a trip to find her long-lost relatives. The Tesauros traveled to Poland, Austria, and Germany on an FIT adventure arranged through Avanti with a Tours By Locals guide in Krakow to trace their heritage in the Krakow/Zakopane area in Poland. They were able to find first cousins that Dianna never knew, and facilitated a meeting.

It all began with the return address on the letter from Anna to her father Thomas that Dianna found, which listed the village of Siekierczyna, Poland, but had no street names or house numbers.

Their driver Bartek took the Tesauros on a tour of Krakow, and then to the Mayor’s house in Siekierczyna. The plot thickened when they were told that there were two villages with the same name. So off to the other village they went, where Bartek passed by a teacher and some children, asking if anyone knew about Anna. No luck, but they continued on. When they saw two men working on a tiny road, they asked again, and one of the laborers knew her and where she lived! There were no street names or house numbers to guide the search, but they were told to look for a certain shrine (even though there were shrines everywhere) and turn down that particular road. It wasn’t her house, but they walked to the next house. And don’t you know it, Anna’s daughter, Wieslawa, came to the door!

Bartek explained that Dianna and Joe were Americans looking for her relatives. Dianna describes what happened next: “It was such a Polish house, just like my grandmother’s … and there was a picture of Anna from 2018 at 95 years old. She looked just like my mom (who died in 2012 at 80 years old). When my husband saw it, he got teary-eyed (having been married for 50 years, he knew my mother well).

“At first Wieslawa didn’t believe that Thomas, my grandfather, had two daughters, Anna and Rose. But eventually she came around. Then she got out a tin box of pictures, and had one of my grandfather when he was younger. I also had some of my grandfather, so we could see it was the same person. Wieslawa called some of her siblings and they came over so we could all meet. They had heard all sorts of rumors about my grandfather, so they were happy to hear the truth. We talked about Anna having five daughters and two sons, while my mom also had five daughters.

“Then Wieslawa took us outside and showed us this tiny little ranch house across the street and said, ‘This is where Anna lived and had her children.’ There were some chickens, ducks, and cows. She told us that someone from America came and gave Anna money to buy the land across the street from her house, where she built another house. She told us the name of the man who delivered the money, and it was my other grandfather. My grandfather Thomas gave the money to my other grandfather Martin to give to Anna. They were best friends in Poland, and in Pennsylvania, then Ohio, where they settled in the U.S.”

Dianna also visited the two churches where her grandfather and grandmother were baptized.

She goes on to describe life in that lovely village of her ancestors: “Everyone there lived off the land. They raised chickens for eggs and food, got milk from the goats and cows, raised fruits and vegetables, made fresh bread, etc. That’s the way they still live there. It is a simple life, but they’re not poor. They were so proud of what they had and where they lived, with incredible views of the hills. They’re friendly, genuine, and welcoming people. I can see where my mother and grandmother got it from.”

This extraordinary adventure “answered a lot of questions,” says Dianna. “I knew I had relatives there, but never thought I’d ever meet them. Now I plan to see them again, and to make a memory book for our children, so they can see the story of how we found our family … and we can pass it along to them.”

Dianna says she is keeping in touch with her now-found relatives in Siekierczyna, where their roots have run deep for generations.

A Tremendous Opportunity for Travel Advisors

Years ago, Travel Advisors Susan and Paul Becks understood the highly satisfying and lucrative opportunity that a specialty in heritage travel presents to travel advisors.

Here is what inspired them, according to Susan Becks, owner, Footsteps World Travel: “My husband has always been interested in his family’s German heritage and has used Ancestry.com to truly understand his homelands. He took a job with a firm based in Germany and was so inspired. After several clients asked about going to Ireland because they were Irish, a lightbulb went off! We did research and so-called heritage travel existed, but was in its infancy. We realized this was both a passion and a business opportunity. Mike Bird was actually our first customer for this program. Also the TV shows like Who Do You Think You Are and Finding Your Roots inspired Baby Boomers to really question their family history.”

And now, after many years of arranging heritage travel for clients, the Becks say that “this type of travel goes well beyond the basic enjoyment people are seeking from travel, to a whole new level. As Dianna Tesauro stated to us when she returned from visiting cousins in Poland that she never knew she had, it has really lit her fire to explore deeper and ‘take ownership of her heritage, and honor what the early immigrants did for us.’”

The Becks’ heritage travel clients are typically retired to semi-retired Baby Boomer couples with larger disposable income, and the time to enjoy it. They have also seen a growing interest in taking along children and grandchildren on multigenerational trips, to be able to share these exciting experiences and bring reality to family stories. And now they are seeing some younger couples coming in, as the trend increases.

They also commented on how selling this niche has helped their agency business. Namely, that this type of travel (Europe FIT and tours) pays better and the customers are less price conscious. Also the average per trip revenue is larger on a per traveler basis.

The Becks offer this piece of advice to travel advisors who are considering delving into selling heritage travel: “Seek some education in genealogical services or partner with someone who does. Be open to understanding the history of early immigrants, understand the real melting pot stories that have created this amazing nation. Try to pull information out of clients and engage them actively in the process of discovery. It is so much more rewarding when the client is directly involved in the research and planning.”

And lastly, they say: “This is by far the most rewarding part of our travel business, and because of this, we have invested so much of ourselves into this venture. We look forward to every new story our clients share with us. A tremendous reward for our efforts!”