Roots in Ireland

In search of their roots used to be a major reason for travels to Ireland.

Genealogical tourism in search of graves

A new study shows that the Internet is responsible for a considerable part of the slow growth in the Irish tourism industry.  

Genealogical tourism, once a lucrative business
Overall the growth in the Irish tourism industry 2000 -2005 did not equal that of other European countries. One of the reasons is that a considerable increase in European travel to Ireland could not counterbalance the 10% fewer Americans that travelled to Ireland from 2000 to 2005. One of the reasons for this negative development was that the lucrative “genealogical tourism” business decreased, mainly due to the Internet.

Irish in America
For centuries the Irish fled from wars, famine and general exploitation of the British. A huge number of immigrants fled to the United States during the 19th and 20th centuries. Today the Irish contingent in the US is considerable and one of the main reasons for the very vibrant Catholic Church over there. It used to be important for these Irish immigrants to go back to Ireland and discover their roots, not least to trace their genealogy and find the gravestones of their forefathers in the local cemetery.

The Irish Genealogical Project
In 1988 this led the Irish government to establish “The Irish Genealogical Project”. The Project commenced with the aim of developing a computerised database of information relevant to family history research in Ireland. It was planned that, once the database was completed, a comprehensive family history research service would be provided based on a countrywide network of centres and independent professional genealogists. From 1988 to 1996 the investment was about £ 15 million. In 1997 an official comptroller examined the project and found it highly lacking in quality. Further, no goals were established concerning its value or goals in terms of increased tourism. Today the project has increasing technological problems as well as having a difficult time getting sufficient funding and support. Part of the irony is that putting the information on the Internet did not further tourism to Ireland; rather the opposite is the case.

Free information on the Internet
The reason for this is that since the end of the 20th century the possibilities of getting information from the Internet for free has increased.  This has not only made life complicated for the official genealogical project, it has also caused a drop in this type of tourism by at least 50 %. Especially a number of genealogical archives or institutions have suffered. They used to be able to charge 45 £ for procuring the genealogical data which now may be had for free. Further the Internet provides the possibility of building Internet communities between members of the same family making it possible to keep in contact without travelling.

New Developments
The increased competition from the Internet has had some direct consequences. It has induced historical institutions to raise the quality of their work. Nowadays it is not so much basic genealogical information, which is sold, but historical days, genealogy classes, etc. The problem here is that the Irish may get that just as well at home in Boston through their local church, museum or other local society. All in all it has turned out to be more complicated to sell the emotional experience of travelling back to one’s roots and walk on the soil of one’s ancestors.

Images of Ireland
The tourism industry has sought to develop products in new directions reflecting new trends that have nothing to do with ancestral tourism.

So why do people come to Ireland, if not in search of their ancestors? Basically in order to live the good life, drink whisky, play golf and generally spend a leisurely time in the country with rolling green hills, pubs and space for sports. History is loosing out!

Thanks to a concerted effort the Irish Tourism board has succeeded in 2006 in creating a growth of overall 8.5 % in the number of visitors.

Images of Ireland are remarkably consistent. When Ireland is mentioned this evokes images of ‘quaint countryside’, ‘rolling, green hills’ and ‘bad (rainy, cold) weather’, ‘sleepy villages’, ‘castles’, friendly, warm people’, ‘pubs’, ‘Irish whiskey’, and ‘wool sweaters’.  Negative perceptions include lack of diversity, poor food, too much emphasis on pub culture, bad weather and a low awareness of the appeals of cities/urban areas. 

However, cultural or historical associations, the core appeals of travel to the rest of Europe, appear to be limited in the case of Ireland.

Related information
Tourism Ireland, Marketing strategy
First Monday, volume 12, number 1 (January 2007) Genealogy and the economic drain on Ireland
Value for Money Examination 14: The Irish Genealogical Project  - review of impact of investments

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