What can Croatia learn from Scotland and Italy in the development of genealogical tourism?

Genealogical or roots tourism is a form of cultural tourism in which travelers visit places where their ancestors came from to explore family history and reconnect with their own identity. New scientific research shows that Croatia has a large diaspora, rich archival heritage and strong potential for the development of this segment, but it still does not have a coordinated national model like Scotland or Italy.

For millions of people around the world, a trip to the land of their ancestors is not a classic vacation, but a search for a personal story: the place from which the family left, the surname, the house or the local community with which they still have an emotional connection.

That's why genealogical tourism It is not a journey towards a destination, but towards identity or a return to roots.

That is precisely why the new scientific paper by the author Renate Tešija from Split-Dalmatia County and Mijane Matosevic Radic from the University of Split, University Department of Professional Studies, Back to Roots: A Comparative Approach to Genealogical Tourism Development in Scotland, Italy, and Croatia, published in the proceedings of the CIET 2026 conference (pp. 164-180), raises an important question for Croatian tourism: can Croatia develop a systematic model of roots tourism and turn its rich emigrant heritage into a sustainable tourism product?

Genealogical tourism or "roots tourism"In recent years, the niche of cultural and experiential tourism has become increasingly recognizable. These are trips motivated by personal origins and the desire to visit the places where ancestors came from, find family roots, and re-establish a connection with one's own identity."

Countries with large diaspora It is precisely in this segment that they see an opportunity for the development of high-value-added tourism, which is not tied exclusively to the summer season.

Through a comparative analysis, the authors compared the development models of genealogical tourism in Scotland, Italy and Croatia, analyzing the institutional framework, tourism practices, existing initiatives and possibilities for the development of this specific form of cultural tourism. The conclusions are particularly interesting for Croatia, which has great potential, but still does not have a systematically developed national model of this form of tourism.

The authors do not view genealogy tourism as just another tourism niche, but as a response to several contemporary challenges in tourism development. The aging diaspora, growing interest in personal identity, the digitization of archival materials, and the growing demand for authentic experiences are creating new opportunities for destinations that can offer more than classic sightseeing. 

Scotland: the global leader in genealogical tourism

According to the research results, Scotland represents the most developed European model of genealogical tourism. Its success is not based solely on a rich history or a large diaspora, but above all on a highly integrated system that connects state institutions, archives, tourism organizations, professional genealogists, cultural institutions and digital platforms.

Genealogy is not an additional tourist service there, but part of the national identity and tourism strategy. Digitized archives, professional family tree researchers, specialized tourist tours and a targeted appeal to the Scottish diaspora have enabled the creation of a recognizable product that attracts visitors from all over the world.

Scotland is the strongest example precisely because it turned genealogy into a system. VisitScotland has a specially positioned segment on its official website "Scottish clans and ancestry”, in which he directs visitors to clans, surnames, tartan, castles, Highland Games and the places where their families come from. The message is not generic: come to Scotland. The message is: come to where your ancestors once lived.

Another key element is digital infrastructure. The Scotland's People platform allows you to search historical records, people, places, church and tax records, order certificates and access digitized collections. This is what creates a product out of nostalgia: the guest can research before arriving and then turn the trip into a tour of specific sites, archives, cemeteries, castles and local communities.

A good example of a strategic campaign was Homecoming Scotland 2009, a project launched to attract people of Scottish descent back to Scotland, with a programme around Robert Burns, culture, heritage, golf and whisky. This shows how genealogy in Scotland is not seen in isolation, but as part of a wider national storytelling.

Scotland in this context does not only sell castles and scenery, but a sense of belonging and a return to one's roots or homecoming.

Italy shows how the state can drive development

Another example in the paper is Italy, which in recent years has seen strong development of genealogical tourism thanks to national initiatives aimed at the Italian diaspora.

It is important to distinguish between two levels. The first is institutional: Italy has recognized roots tourism as a national initiative and through the project Roots Tourism It specifically addresses millions of Italians and their descendants around the world, encouraging them to visit the places of their ancestors.

The second is the communication and storytelling level, where the best example is Stanley TucciHis series Searching for Italy i Tucci in Italy are not genealogical tourism projects, but authorial documentaries about food, regions, people and culture. But it is through gastronomy that Tucci shows how the identity of a country can be explored through local recipes, family memories, landscape, history and everyday life.

That is why Tucci's example is important for Croatia. He shows that interest in roots does not always have to be activated through an archive or a family tree. It can start through a plate, a wine, a dialect, an island custom, an old family house or the story of a local person. Food is not a substitute for genealogy, but a gateway to identity. It is precisely this connection that Italy uses better than most countries, and Croatia can learn a lot from it. 

His example also shows how powerful a tool for developing grassroots tourism can be authentic cultural storytelling, even when it was not created as part of a tourism strategy.

Croatia has potential, but it lacks a system

The most interesting part of the work relates specifically to Croatia.

The authors conclude that Croatia has with a rich archival heritage, a developed framework of cooperation with emigrants and a large diaspora, but still does not have a systematically developed model of genealogical tourismSo, the prerequisites exist, but an organized system that would turn them into a competitive tourism product is missing.

The paper specifically highlights several key challenges, such as: the lack of specialized educational programs, fragmented digitalization of archival materials, insufficient connection between institutions, and the still insufficiently clear positioning of genealogical tourism within the Croatian tourism offer.

This means that today, a person of Croatian origin who wants to explore their roots mostly contacts archives, parishes, registry offices or local communities and organizes their own trip. So, instead of a coordinated tourist product, they often encounter a series of unrelated institutions and individual initiatives.

Dalmatia has already taken the first concrete step

Although the scientific paper warns that Croatia does not yet have a systematic national model, it is important to emphasize that the first concrete examples already exist.

The Split-Dalmatia County recently launched a project "Return to the roots", which educated the first generation of professionals for genealogical tourism.

Through a two-day program, around twenty participants received training on working with civil registry books, archival materials, cadastral records, surnames, cemeteries, digital databases, as well as the protection of personal data and the creation of specialized itineraries for descendants of Croatian emigrants.

The special value of the project is not only the education of the guides, but the fact that the story has already started to turn into a concrete tourist product. Tours and interpreters connected to the “Return to the Roots” program are already available on the Dalmatia Storytelling platform, which means that genealogical tourism in Split-Dalmatia County is no longer just a development idea, but an experience that can be booked and purchased. This is precisely the key difference between potential and product: the destination does not remain at the level of a concept, but offers the guest a concrete entry into their own family and local story.

It is precisely this approach that confirms one of the main conclusions of the scientific work: genealogical tourism is not a romantic idea or an incidental tourist product, but an interdisciplinary system that connects tourism, archives, history, culture, and local communities.

A great opportunity for continental Croatia

Genealogical tourism could be particularly important for continental regions, Dalmatian Zagora, Lika, Gorski Kotar, Slavonia, Baranja, Srijem and numerous smaller islands.

One of the more interesting local examples is Susak, although it was not created as a planned tourist product.

For decades, Susak has been marked by strong emigration, especially to the United States, with a large part of the Susak community becoming attached to New Jersey and the greater New York area. According to available data, only a small number of residents live on the island today, while a significant number of descendants of Susak residents live in the United States, and in the summer many return to the island to their families.

Susak is therefore important as an example of “roots tourism” that did not arise from a strategy, but from the real life connection of the diaspora and the place of origin. The return to the island is not motivated by the classic tourist offer, but by family memory, surnames, cemeteries, speech, customs, costumes, houses and a sense of belonging. It is precisely such examples that show that Croatia already has authentic micro-models of genealogical tourism, it has only not yet systematically recognized, interpreted and linked them into a national product.

Unlike classic tourists, genealogical visitors do not come for the most famous attractions. Their motive is personal. They want to find the place from which their family emigrated, visit the parish church where their ancestors were baptized, find the family home, visit the cemetery or meet distant relatives.

Such guests often stay longer, travel outside the main tourist season, include more family members, and have a greater emotional willingness to invest in authentic experiences. This is precisely why this form of tourism can contribute to diversifying Croatia's tourism offer and strengthening less developed destinations.

Susak shows that grassroots tourism does not necessarily have to be "invented" because it already exists in many Croatian communities, it just needs to be professionally organized.

Experienced experts, Gary Lawrie, a professional genealogist from Heart of Scotland Ancestry, and Manja Lilek, a licensed tour guide and expert in researching Slovenian and Croatian ancestry, shared their many years of experience in this specific branch of tourism.

Croatia should not copy Scotland, but build its own model

The greatest value of this scientific work is not only the comparison of Scotland, Italy and Croatia, but the fact that it clearly shows that genealogical tourism is not a product that arises spontaneously. It is built systematically through linkage institution as a more important segment, as well as archives, local history, cultural heritage, the tourism sector and the diaspora into a unique experience of returning to one's roots.

Scotland has been building this system for decades through the digitization of archives, professional genealogical services and strong national storytelling. Italy has raised roots tourism to the level of a state initiative aimed at millions of its emigrants and their descendants. Croatia has a different historical and cultural context, but an equally valuable foundation: a strong diaspora, rich archival materials, parish registers, local communities and millions of people who still feel a connection to the places from which their ancestors left.

The example of Split-Dalmatia County shows that Croatia is no longer starting from scratch. However, for genealogical tourism to grow beyond individual local initiatives and become a serious national tourism product, it is necessary to connect archives, tourist boards, museums, guides, DMC agencies, scientific institutions and Croatian communities around the world into a single system of “returning to the roots”.

Because a guest who comes for their roots doesn't just come to visit Croatia. He comes to find a part of his own identity. And that is an extremely strong emotion and one of the most powerful motives for traveling.

PS It is interesting that this year the Croatian Tourist Board engaged John Malkovich, who received Croatian citizenship because of his family roots, in an international campaign. Although the campaign was not aimed at genealogical tourism, it is precisely these kinds of authentic stories that show how strong an emotional connection to one's origins can be.