Destination Ireland: an ancestral and emotional connection for the American tourist

The direction of the research in this paper is dictated by the particular characteristics attaching to the special relationship that exists between Ireland and the USA. In order to understand the complexities that govern the motivating factors underlying American tourist interest in Ireland, this research examines the singular historical, psychological, emotional, and connectional dimensions that will afford us the knowledge from which deductible theories, conclusions, and recommendations can be extracted. This paper, therefore, seeks to outline the historical framework governing the development of the relationship between the USA and Ireland, and identifies the historical, ancestral, emotional, and connectional factors that bind the two nations. This research presents new empirical findings on the American tourist's quest for ancestral tangibility in destination Ireland. Destination Ireland is marketed in a highly competitive environment and the future of the Irish tourism industry will inevitably be dependent on the ability of tourism industry managers to deliver new viable options and motivations to travel to Ireland. A significant finding in this current research suggests that the development of an ancestral product would address this requirement in the market place.