Ancestry Tourism

As I start making bookings for a genealogy trip to Ireland in October I was interested to read an article in the New York Times, A Personal Sort of Time Travel: Ancestry Tourism by Amy Zipkin.

Almost in passing the article includes the information that "In 2012, Global Industry Analysts, a market research company in San Jose, Calif., estimated the global market for genealogical products and services at $2.3 billion in 2014, rising to $4.3 billion by 2018."  That's less that a dollar per person on a global basis -- you do more than your fair share!

A quick Google search found that the golf equipment market is worth $8.7 billion annually globally. That's a strike against the idea that genealogy is the second most popular hobby.

Thanks to Patricia Barlosky, formerly of the OPL, for bringing the NYT item to my attention.