Ancestral tourism information, news and events

It's everybody's business...
Learn more about how your tourism business can benefit 

Or for more information about ancestral tourism training courses in your area contact:

Tourist Board Training Ltd
Tel. 01294 313006
E: tbt@tbt.visitscotland.com

An estimated 15 million people in North America claim to have Scottish ancestry. Worldwide there could be as many as 90 million claiming at least one Scottish great-grandparent. And as global access to the internet grows, it is perhaps no surprise that genealogy is consistently one of the most popular searches online.

Converting this universal fascination with tracing family roots into a new market for the Highlands and Islands has been the task set for the Ancestral Tourism Initiative.

For more information, please contact Gillian Harrower, Ancestral Tourism Project Manager, by telephone (01738 860523) or email

 * Of the 56 men who signed the American Declaration of Independence, 21 (almost 38 percent) were of Scots ancestry. Eleven US Presidents have been of Scots ancestry and 35 Supreme Court justices have been Scots. Another Scot, Alexander Hamilton, proposed the American national banking system and is now depicted on the American $10 bill.