Heritage Travel on the Rise with Airbnb and 23andMe
NEW YORK (PRWEB) June 13, 2019 -- For some travelers, turning to their ancestry for inspiration has become the latest—and most interesting—way to plan a trip. Recently, Ali Killam, Consumer Trends Expert at Airbnb and Jhulianna Cintron, Genetics Trends Expert at 23andMe, teamed with YourUpdateTV to discuss how heritage travel is easier than ever before.
A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://youtu.be/YQopHXTB31U
With the rise of at-home genetic tests like 23andMe, it has never been easier to learn about your ancestry. This, in turn, has contributed to the growing trend of heritage travel, with people around the world taking trips to connect with their ancestry. Recently, Airbnb and 23andMe have teamed up to make traveling to your roots easier than ever, incorporating heritage travel into their product experiences.
For example, if a 23andMe customer has Southern Italian ancestry, they might be able to find a trullo in Puglia as a home base to explore their heritage. Or someone with Mexican roots could find an experience in Mexico City to learn ancient techniques of natural dye as part of their heritage vacation. Customers are also able to explore Airbnb Homes and Experiences in locales with which they have no genetic ties.
Since 2014, the number of travelers using Airbnb for tracing their roots increased by 500 percent, and 78 percent of these trips are taken in pairs or solo, suggesting that these are introspective journeys or an important moment to share with a significant other. Additionally, as our guests grow older, their desire to understand their roots grows as well -- guests aged 60-90 are the most likely to take heritage travel trips. And the most popular places of origin for DNA trips are the places typically known for their history of immigration -- the United States tops the list followed by Canada and Australia.
According to 23andMe, some of the top places in which its customers have recent ancestry outside of the United States and Canada are the United Kingdom, Italy, Mexico, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Mainland China, Spain, Nigeria, India and Russia.
Through Airbnb Experiences, people don’t always need to travel to explore their roots. you may be able to connect with your ancestry in a meaningful way right in your hometown. For example, in San Francisco, Chuhan and her husband lead a Chinese calligraphy and tea tasting experience.
Whether it’s a class in your neighborhood, or a trip to a distant country where your ancestors called home, connecting with your roots can be an eye-opening, enriching experience, and with the help of Airbnb and 23andMe, you can now plan a trip as unique as your DNA.
For more information, visit Airbnb.com/heritagetravel
About Jhulianna Cintron:
Jhulianna Cintron, Genetics Trends Expert at 23andMe, joined the 23andMe team in 2015. She also serves as a Customer Relationship Specialist on the Customer Care Team. She serves as a subject matter expert on genetics, and company spokesperson for media engagements, the analyst community, online communities, and the general public at large. Her responsibilities on the customer care team include providing input on prioritization and resolution of customer-facing issues and working directly with cross-functional teams to influence and support development of new and existing communications materials and messaging from the perspective of the customer. She holds a BS in Biology from Syracuse University and an MS in Health Psychology from Walden University.
About Ali Killam:
Ali Killam is the consumer trends spokesperson at Airbnb. As part of her role, Ali constantly keeps her finger on the pulse of the travel industry, sifting through data and consumer insights to uncover the hottest travel trends, up-and-coming destinations, and more, while featuring the vast array of the most unique and popular Homes and Experiences on the Airbnb platform. Ali also plays an integral role in creating content and managing stories that are published across the Airbnb channels. Prior to joining Airbnb, Ali was an award-winning multi-media journalist, with experience reporting for multiple broadcast stations across the Midwest. As an avid traveler, Ali has a true passion for community and learning about culture from across the world, most recently visiting Bali, the UK, and South Africa.
About YourUpdateTV:
YourUpdateTV is a social media video portal for organizations to share their content, produced by award-winning video communications firm, D S Simon Media (http://www.dssimon.com). It includes separate channels for Health and Wellness, Lifestyle, Media and Entertainment, Money and Finance, Social Responsibility, Sports and Technology.
Michael O’Donnell, D S Simon Media, +1 212-7362727, [email protected]
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