Legacy Tourism: The Search for Personal Meaning in Heritage Travel

Gary McCain, Boise State University
Nina Ray, Boise State University

Abstract

In recent years, the existence and nature of the heritage tourism market has attracted substantial attention in the tourism industry. There appears to be a sub-segment of the heritage market that consists of tourists who have a personal connection with their heritage beyond a general relationship of collective ancestry. Those that travel to engage in genealogical endeavors, to search for information on or to simply feel connected to ancestors and ancestral roots are categorized as legacy tourists. This paper describes the heritage tourism market, discusses distinguishing characteristics that identify legacy tourists, and emphasizes to tourism managers the importance of recognizing and responding to this segment.