
- On 04 January 2025
- By Thomas
Looking Back on 2024
2024, as our readers know, was the year dedicated to Turismo delle Radici(Roots Tourism), an initiative that quickly became a landmark effort to reconnect Italian descendants worldwide with their ancestral roots. Designed to encourage the millions of people of Italian origin living abroad to visit their forebears’ towns and villages, the program achieved notable successes and managed to create cultural connections, to drive economic growth in lesser-known regions and to celebrate the unique bond between Italy and its diaspora.
One of the key features of this initiative was the creation of Italea, an innovative digital platform developed to facilitate roots tourism, which offers users a range of services, including genealogical research, personalized travel itineraries, and connections with local communities. For many visitors, the opportunity to trace their family histories and visit the towns their ancestors once called home was made simpler by Italea and its services, all aimed at creating a solid framework for structured engagement between Italy and its global descendants.
Throughout the year, the Italian government collaborated with more than 800 small municipalities across the country, which organized cultural events, festivals, and workshops to show and present their local traditions, crafts, and cuisines to warmly welcome travelers. Beyond providing a unique experience for visitors, these activities played a crucial role in revitalizing these communities, some of which had suffered from depopulation and economic stagnation. Roots tourists often discovered the charm of these lesser-known regions, far removed from the usual tourist hotspots, breathing life into areas that had struggled to attract travelers in the past. Key to the success of the program has been the partnership between Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ITA Airways, which offered discounted airfares to encourage participation.
Besides the emotional and cultural impact, Turismo delle Radici was very important — as we hinted at above — for the country’s economy: according to estimates, tapping into the Italian diaspora generated significant financial returns, with potential revenues reaching as high as €141 billion (148.5 billion USD). This was especially important for small municipalities, where this influx of tourism dollars helped sustain local businesses, support artisans, and reinvigorate hospitality sectors that had faced challenges, particularly during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Shops selling handmade goods, traditional restaurants, and family-owned guesthouses were some of the primary beneficiaries of this initiative, creating a ripple effect that ensured the economic benefits of tourism were felt across these communities.
The cultural benefits were equally profound, because visitors not only explored their ancestral roots but also engaged with the living heritage of the towns they visited. Dialects, culinary traditions, religious celebrations, and artisan crafts found a renewed audience among roots tourists; this, in turn, actually led to a greater appreciation for these traditions among local residents, especially younger generations, who took pride in sharing their culture with an international audience, or became familiar with part of their heritage for the first time.
2024 was dedicated to Roots Tourism and is now time to assess how it went (Photo: Dorian2013z/Dreamstime)
Despite the program’s many successes, challenges were inevitable. One of the primary issues was ensuring that the influx of tourists did not overwhelm small towns, many of which lacked the infrastructure to accommodate large numbers of visitors, and balancing the authentic experience promised by roots tourism with the practicalities of hosting travelers required careful planning. The diverse expectations of visitors posed another challenge: some sought immersive experiences involving local traditions, others focused on the emotional and genealogical aspects of their journeys, and managing these varied priorities while maintaining the program’s overarching goals was no small feat.
Looking at individual success stories, the initiative’s impact becomes more tangible. Take, for example, the region of Molise, which has long been associated with migration. This small, often overlooked part of Italy welcomed hundreds of descendants who embarked on journeys to discover their ancestral villages: many of them shared heartwarming stories of meeting long-lost relatives, participating in age-old traditions, and uncovering family histories that had been obscured by time. For many, it was a powerfully transformative experience, which offered a sense of closure, belonging, or simply a deeper understanding of their identity.
Turismo delle Radici also highlighted the mutual benefits of reconnecting with the diaspora: for Italy, it was a chance to foster goodwill and strengthen ties with people who, though far removed by geography, still identify closely with their Italian heritage. For travelers, the initiative offered a gateway to explore a cultural identity that, for many, had been passed down through stories, recipes, and traditions, but was never experienced “first hand.” It was a rich and lively exchange, which many saw as a moment where Italians from Italy and Italians from the world finally embraced the idea of a shared ownership over the country’s incredible heritage.
The lessons learned from 2024 could inform future iterations of Turismo delle Radici: The success of this initiative underscores the importance of engaging with diasporic communities as both cultural ambassadors and economic drivers, therefore, expanding programs like Italea, increasing investments in infrastructure for small towns, and building long-term collaborations with Italian communities abroad are all steps that could ensure roots tourism continues to flourish in the years ahead.
For individuals interested in exploring their roots, the options remain plentiful. Planning a roots journey can start with platforms like Italea, which provides essential resources for tracing family histories.
Engaging with local guides, participating in cultural events, and supporting local economies through ethical tourism practices—such as minimizing harm to the environment, respecting local cultures, and ensuring economic benefits for communities—can also deepen the experience.
At the end of this eventful year, we can say that Turismo delle Radici was about traveling and getting to know one’s heritage, but also — and especially — about storytelling, identity, and rediscovery. By the end of 2024, the initiative had left an indelible mark on those who participated, as well as on the towns and regions that opened their doors to the world.