Who am I? Where did I Come from? Where do I go to Find out? Genealogy, the Internet and Tourism

Josiam, Bharath M. and Frazier, Richard (2008): Who am I? Where did I Come from? Where do I go to Find out? Genealogy, the Internet and Tourism. Published in: TOURISMOS: An International Multidisciplinary Refereed Journal of Tourism , Vol. 3, No. 2 (15 October 2008): pp. 35-56.

Abstract

Genealogists seek to answer the questions: Who am I? Where did I come from? Who were my ancestors? For answers, genealogists today use the Internet. However, genealogists still need to travel. Genealogy related tourism involves covering distances, studying places, and learning while traveling, while satisfying personal needs. Major questions of interest that this study researched were: Who are genealogists? What are their travel patterns and motivations? How has the Internet impacted their travel?A total of 1,374 respondents completed Internet based surveys. Respondents were subscribers to genealogy focused e-mail lists. The average respondent was college educated, “working on genealogy” for six to ten years, and had travelled 200 to 299 miles for a genealogy related trip. Over 75% planned to travel out-of-state in the coming year by car. Males and older people spent more money on travel. The majority of the respondents indicated that the Internet had increased their travel, and that they had used the Internet for travel arrangements.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Genealogy, Tourism, Internet, Travel Motivations, Travel Patterns
• Subjects: O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development; M - Business Administration and Business Economics ; Marketing ; Accounting ; Personnel Economics > M1 - Business Administration; L - Industrial Organization > L8 - Industry Studies: Services > L83 - Sports ; Gambling ; Restaurants ; Recreation ; Tourism

References

About ancestry.com. Http://www.ancestry.com. Accessed the 7th of March 2001, at 13:00.

Basu, Paul. (2004). Emigrant Homecomings: The Return Movement of Emigrants, 1600-2000, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005, Chapter 7, pp.131-150.

Bockstruck, L. D. (1983). "Four centuries of genealogy: a historical overview". RQ, 23, 39.

Bonn, M. A., Furr, H. L. & Susskind, A. M. (1998). Using the Internet as a pleasure travel planning tool: An examination of the socio-demographic and behavioral characteristics among Internet users and nonusers. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, Vol. 22, pp.303-317.

Britannica.com. (2001). Http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=1460&tocid=0 Accessed the 3rd of January 2001, at 14:00.

Burroughs, T. (2000). Preservation of reconstruction era records. FDCH Congressional Testimony, House Government Reform (October 17th).

Corey, R. J. (1996). A drama-based model of travelers destination choice. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, Vol. 5, No.4, pp.1-21.

Cyndi’s list of genealogy sites on the Internet. Http://www.cyndislist.com/faq/whatis.htm Accessed the 7th of March 2001, at 14:30.

Desforges, L., (2000). Traveling the world; Identity and travel biography. Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 27, pp.926-945.

Encyclopedia Britannica. (2004). Genealogy [document on line]. Avalaible from Internet at The Encyclopedia Britannica Premium Web Site. Accessed the 26th of March 2004.

FamilySearch. Http://.www.familysearch.com/. Accessed the 7th of March 2001, at 15:00.

Foster, A. D. (1979). Star Trek: The motion picture. (R. Wise, Director). Paramount Picture.

Fowler, S. (2001). Our genealogical forbears. History Today, Vol. 51, No.3, pp.42-43.

Fulkerson, J. (1995, Dec). Climbing the family tree. American Demographics, Vol. 17, pp.42-47.

Galani-Moutafi, V. (2000). The self and the other: Travelers, ethnographer, tourist. Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 27, pp.203-224.

Gormley, M. V. (2000) Tracing Jewish ancestors. Classic American Homes, Vol. 26, No.1, pp.38-40.

Hornblower, M. (1999). Roots mania. Time, Vol. 153, No.15, pp.54-66.

Isaacson, K. (1998). Rootsweb and USGENWEB: Working Together for Genealogy on the Internet. Roostweb Review. Http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/19981111.txt. Accessed the 12th of March 2004, at 12.30.

Janal, S. D. (1998). Online Marketing Handbook. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Kemp, T. J. (1999). Genealogy: Finding roots on the Web. College & Research Libraries News, Vol. 60, pp.452-455.

Kemp, T. J. (1999). The roots of genealogy collections. Library Journal, Vol. 124, No.6, pp.57-60.

Kerstetter, D. L. Confer, J. J. & Graefe, A. R. (2001). An Exploration of The Specialization Concept Within The Context of Heritage Tourism. Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 39, pp.267-274.

McClay, W. M. (2000). My history and America’s. First Things, Vol. 102(Apr), pp.11-13.

McIntosh, A. J. & Prentice, R. C. (1999). Affirming authenticity: Consuming cultural heritage. Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 26, pp.589-612.

McIntosh, A. J. (1999). Into the tourist’s mind: Understanding the value of the heritage experience. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, Vol. 8, pp.41-64.

Mills, E. S. (2003). Genealogy in the "Information Age": History's New Frontier? National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 91(December 2003), pp.260-277.

Morrison, A. M., Hsieh, S., & O’Leary, J. T. (1995). Segmenting the visiting friends and relatives market by holiday activity participation. The Journal of Tourism Studies, Vol. 6, pp.49-63.

Moscardo, G., Pearce, P., Morrison, A., Green, D., & O’Leary, J. T. (2000). Developing a typology for understanding visiting friends and relatives markets. Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 38, pp.251-259.

Myers, D. G. (2000). The funds, friends, and faith of happy people. American Psychologist, Vol. 55, pp.56-67.

Nicol, J. (1999, Sept). The search for roots. Macleans’s, Vol. 112, No.38, pp.42-47.

Nuryanti, W. (1996) Heritage and postmodern tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 23, pp.249-260.

PEW Research Center. (2000). Tracking Online Life: How Women Use the Internet to Cultivate Relationships with Family and Friends (May). http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/Report1.pdf. Accessed the 13th of June 2004, at 11.00.

Phillips, S. (2003). Research into family trees branches into profitability. Http://www.myfamilyinc.com/pressroom/FT.pdf. Accessed the 2nd of May 2004, at 11.30.

Podber, Jacob J. (2003). Bridging the Digital Divide in Rural Appalachia: Internet Usage in the Mountains, Unpublished Ph.D Informing Science. Carbondale, USA: Southern Illinois University.

Poria, Y., Butler, R. & Airey, D. (2003). The Core of Heritage Tourism. Annals of Tourism Research. Vol. 30, No.1, pp.238-254.

Post, W., Poppel, F. V., Imhoff, E. V. & Kruse, E. (1997). Reconstructing the extended kin-network in the Netherlands with genealogical data: Methods, problems, and results. Population Studies, Vol. 51, pp.263-278.

Robinson, J., Levin, S., & Hak, B. (1998). Computer time. American Demographics, Vol. 20, No.8, pp.18-23.

Rootsweb.com. (2001). Home page. http://www.rootsweb.com/. Accessed the 7th of March 2001, at 10.55.

Schonland, A. M., & Williams, P. W. (1996) Using the Internet for travel and tourism survey research: Experiences from the net travel survey. Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 35, No.2, pp.81- 87.

Sheppard, W. L. (1977). A bicentennial look at genealogy methods, performance, education and thinking. National Genealogical Society Quarterly, LXV-1 (1977).

Timothy, D.J. (1997) Tourism and the personal heritage experience. Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 34, No.3, pp.751-754.

Travel Industry Association. (1997). 1997 Outlook for Travel and Tourism. Washington, DC: Travel Industry Association.

Tuan, Y. F. (1977). Space and place: The perspective of experience. Minneapolis, MN : Unpublished PhD University of Minnesota Press. Minnesota, USA- University of Minnesota.

USGenWeb.com. (2001). The USGenWeb project. http://www.usgenweb.com/. Accessed the 7th of March 2001, at 14.30.

Veale, H. Kylie. (2004). The Changing Face of Genealogy: An Empirical Study of The Genealogical Community Online. Unpublished PhD. Perth, Australia- Curtin University of Technology.

Veale, H. Kylie. (2005). A Doctoral Study of The Use of The Internet For Genealogy. Unpublished PhD. Perth, Australia- Curtin University of Technology. ISSN 1696-2060.

Wadham, R. L. (2000). Your ancestors on the Internet. Library Mosaics, Vol. 11, No.6, pp.20.

Weber, K. & Roehl, W. S. (1999). Profiling people searching for and purchasing travel products on the World Wide Web. Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 37, pp.291-298.

Webopedia.com. (2001). Http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/I/Internet.html. Accessed the 3rd of January 2004, at 10.50.

Why Family History. (2001). The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints. http://www.lds.org/media2/library/display/0,6021,183--211-6,FF.html. Accessed the 7th of November 2001, at 10.50.

Woodtor, D. P. (Dec 1993/Jan 1994). African-American genealogy. American Visions, Vol. 8, No.6, pp.20-24.

Zakin, R. B. (1996/1997). Climbing your family tree. Family Life, Winter 96/97, pp.88-91.