According to Airbnb heritage travel is on the rise. Since 2014, Airbnb has seen a 500% increase in travellers using Airbnb to trace their roots! To make it easier to plan a heritage vacation, Airbnb has partnered with at-home genetic tests company 23andMe.
How To Plan A Trip With 23andMe & Airbnb
You will need to pay for the Ancestry Service on 23andMe. The test itself is easy; just fill the test tube with your saliva and mail the box back to 23andMe. In a few weeks, you will get your results of where your ancestors are from.
On Airbnb, they have a dedicated page that matches the 23andMe’s genetic populations. So you can click where your ancestors are from, and quickly find accommodations in that area.
My Results With 23andMe & Airbnb
My results showed my ancestors were 99.8% European, more specifically Northwestern European with 61.8% British and Irish, 15.9% French and German, and trace amounts from other parts of Europe.
On the results, it will even bring it down to the regions in a country with the matches ranked of the probably your ancestors came from that city or area. For me, the top city my ancestors came from in the United Kingdom was Greater London, followed by Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Glasgow City, and Belfast.
Meanwhile, in Ireland, it seems likely I may have had family who lived in Cork, Limerick or Dublin.
In France, it seems it is possible some of my family were from Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. Which is interesting as it is one of the regions of France I’ve never explored.
Using these results, I went to https://www.airbnb.ca/b/heritagetravel. From there I could select Northwestern Europe, which is where my family was from, and finally the United Kingdom my top match. Turns out currently it just directs you to the same results as if you search the United Kingdom on Airbnb.
I still find the results and planning aspect fascinating as London is the top country I have wanted to visit for a while, and the results of 23andMe make me want to go more. I’ve already been around Ireland and felt at home, so using my 23andMe results, and the Airbnb accommodations I’d love to plan an extended vacation going to London, Liverpool, Glasgow, Belfast, and Manchester.
Want to plan your heritage vacation?
Take the test on 23andMe.