How to plan a family heritage trip

In the second season of the TV show “The White Lotus,” three generations of a fictional American family travel to Sicily to attempt to reconnect with their ancestral roots. Although their journey sometimes goes comically wrong, cultural trips like hers have become serious business.

Decades ago, Americans who wanted to travel to explore their roots had to rely on family stories, sift through dusty books and often follow their gut instincts. But DNA testing sites, online genealogy databases and social media have made searching much easier and sparked a growing interest in heritage travel.

Global heritage tourism is a nearly $600 billion annual industry that is expected to continue growing at about 4% per year through 2030, according to a market analysis by Grand View Research. And television shows like “Who Do You Think You Are?” and “Finding Your Roots,” which primarily follow celebrities as they discover their heritage, continue to inspire other journeys.

Not everyone goes on a cultural trip for the same reason: Maybe you want to meet living relatives to exchange photos and stories. Maybe you are looking for official documents to obtain dual citizenship. Or you’re simply looking for a connection to a place your family once called home.

Here are some tips for planning your own heritage trip.

Follow your DNA

Services like Ancestry.com, FamilyTreeDNA, MyHeritage and the troubled company 23andMe use your genes to decipher your family’s likely places of origin. Other DNA testing websites target specific ethnic groups, such as African Ancestry or Somos Ancestria if they are of Latin American ancestry. The cost of the DNA testing kits, which typically require a saliva sample, can vary from about $40 to $300, depending on the company and how detailed you want the results to be.

Do free online detective work

Birth, death, marriage and census records can help you narrow your search to specific locations. You can view these sources through the US Census Bureau or the National Archives and Records Administration. If you don’t know where to start, FamilySearch is an easy-to-use, free website sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (You do not have to be a member of the Church to use it.)

Find a Grave and BillionGraves are comprehensive databases that document gravestone locations and can help you find family graves. If your ancestors served in the military, organizations such as Daughters of the American Revolution or the US World War One Centennial Commission can assist you with your research.

If you already know your family’s country of origin, search online for groups with ancestors in those places that may be able to help you connect to more specific resources. For example, you could try the National Archives of Australia, the Association of Family History Societies of Wales, a database of Korean clans at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, or the Jamaican government’s genealogical research tool. Or explore your religious heritage on sites like IslamicFamilyTree or JewishGen.

Get social

Start with your extended family: ask about family trees and previous heritage trips. Then click on social media. Join the conversation in Facebook groups dedicated to specific ethnic groups or locations, such as the South American Genealogy Research Community; Marshall County, Mississippi, genealogy; or the Finnish American Heritage Society of Maine. You might even discover a group dedicated to your last name: I found one for “Sims.”

Consider hiring a professional

If you don’t have the time or patience to do the legwork, you can hire an expert: The Association of Professional Genealogists maintains a searchable database. Or you can hire a professional cultural tour planner to help you create an itinerary and, in some cases, accompany you through your tour.

How much you pay for professional help depends on how much personal advice you want. For example, italyMondo!, an agency that customizes Italian heritage tours, does the genealogical research to create an itinerary you can follow on your own for $2,000. But for $5,000 to $10,000, you can get a professional to guide you on your journey.

Other companies like MyChinaRoots use your research to identify key destinations for a cultural tour. You can choose to hire a heritage-trained guide to help you make the most of your visit: Daily rates for MyChinaRoots guides start at around $500.

Record your journey

Upload copies of historical photos or documents to your device and have some recent photos of your own family available. Additionally, digitize any film, audio, or video you want to share using services like EverPresent, iMemories, or Legacybox. These could serve as valuable icebreakers when meeting a distant relative.

You can upload photos, along with explanatory notes of what you find on your trip, directly to your online family tree using some genealogy apps. But also bring a notebook and some tape to create a tangible souvenir.

Finally, consider recording your conversations with relatives you meet (though remember to ask for permission, as local laws may vary). You may be creating a valuable record for the next generation of cultural travelers.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.