Now that the pandemic is almost history, travelers are poised to discover their own. After two years of being locked down and quarantined, Americans are embarking on ambitious trips to discover history — and it’s taking them to some remarkable places.
A survey by Priceline predicts a banner year for historical tourism, also called heritage tourism. If you’ve ever traveled anywhere to experience artifacts and activities representing the stories and people of the past and present, then congratulations — you’re a heritage tourist. (And by the way, that’s the textbook definition given to heritage tourism by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, an independent federal agency.)
One-third of Americans say heritage travel is a meaningful way to travel, according to Priceline. Interestingly, the younger crowd (18-34 years old) shows the highest interest in heritage tourism this year.
I’ve met many of them in the last few weeks as the tourism season gets underway in Europe. I’m traveling through Turkey in April and I’ll be in Greece next month, both known for their rich histories.
The Forbidden City in Beijing, the most visited historical attraction in the world.
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Here are a few examples of historical tourism
If you’ve ever been to a place that deepens your understanding of world history, then you’ve been a heritage traveler.
- The most visited historical site is the Forbidden City in Beijing. It attracted close to 20 million visitors in 2019, the last normal year for tourism. The remnants of Covid could threaten its top spot in 2022. The Palace of Versailles comes in second (8 million annual visits), followed by the Lincoln Memorial and Rome’s Colosseum. Both received slightly less than 8 million yearly visitors.
- People visit historical sites for different reasons. If you’re a spiritual or faith-based tourist, you might look to other famous historical sites. The holy city of Mecca is considered the number one destination for faith tourists (20 million annual visitors). Also on the list is the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India, Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica in Mexico City, and the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul. I’ll be exploring faith-based tourism in a future story.
- Every country has its own list of top destinations for heritage travel, some of which are not as well known. In Turkey, they include awe-inspiring places such as Nemrut Dag and its five enormous limestone statues created by King Antiochos in the late Hellenistic period, as well as Cappadocia’s underground cities, the subterranean shelters where the natives hid from the merciless Hittite invaders.
If you want more than sun and fun on your next getaway, you can find a quick list of the best historical tourism sites by visiting the UNESCO World Heritage List. Of course, there are many more sites worth seeing, but this list is one of the best starting points.
Ancient Lycean tombs along the Dalyan Çayı River in Dalyan, Turkey.
Christopher Elliott
Historical destinations are bracing for more visitors this summer
Although places of interest for heritage tourism are everywhere, some areas — especially Turkey — are experiencing a particular surge in demand.
At the Dalyan Resort & Spa Hotel, for example, history frames your entire experience. From the banks of the Dalyan Çayı River, visitors can see the famous Lycian Rock Tombs. These impressive facades, built in the 4th century, are all that remain of a once-thriving civilization. Fulya and Yucel Okutur, the resort’s owners, say the region has attracted an increasing number of history enthusiasts who charter boats to sail down the curving river and take pictures of the crumbling rock facades.
Olympos Lodge, a boutique hotel on the Mediterranean coast, is also a stone’s throw from Mt. Olympos, another Lycian city. Co-owner Ayşen Özkan Şimşek says the pandemic has given visitors an opportunity to consider a deeper meaning behind travel, so visiting a place that has a rich history makes it all the more appealing. Properties like Olympos Lodge tend to get a fair number of visitors from Eastern Europe, but with the war going on, she says Western Europe and North America are picking up the slack this summer.
In Antalya, the Tuvana Hotel is also in the right place at the right time. Its location, in the central district of Kaleiçi, puts guests within walking distance of the city’s main historical attractions. These include the famous Tekeli Mehmet Paşa Mosque, the ancient harbor and Hadrian’s Gate, according to Nermin Tankut, who manages the Ottoman-style boutique hotel.
“People are looking for an experience,” she says. “They want to take a walking tour and see the gates — but they are also looking for more from their vacation.”
The restored amphitheater in Aspendos, an ancient Greco-Roman city in Turkey’s Antalya province.
Christopher Elliott
Is this the summer for a heritage tour?
If you haven’t booked your summer vacation yet, and are looking for a heritage vacation, there’s still time, although you’re cutting it close. International airfares are still down from 2019 levels — they were 19 percent below pre-pandemic levels during spring break — but some destinations have more than bounced back. The average roundtrip economy class airline ticket to Italy costs over $1,300. Maybe the Colosseum can wait until the summer of 2023.
Airlines are scrambling to meet demand. European airlines, eager to serve hot Turkish Riviera destinations like Antalya, haven’t been able to find enough staff to add new flights, according to tourism insiders. Turkish Airlines will operate 388 direct weekly flights to 47 cities in 29 countries from Antalya, Dalaman, Bodrum-Milas and İzmir, according to the carrier.
For all the interest in heritage tourism, there’s still plenty of room for more visitors. But it depends where you want to go. Ali Şafak Öztürk, president of Regnum Carya Golf & Spa Resort, an all-inclusive resort in Antalya, recalls a recent conversation with director Guy Ritchie, who was visiting his property to make the upcoming movie Operation Fortune. Ritchie, like many visitors, was captivated by the ancient city of Aspendos, with its well-preserved Roman amphitheater. “He was saying that it’s so beautiful and we have so much history, but it’s not well known,” he says.
That’s the dilemma faced by destinations with historical attractions. If you improve marketing, you risk being overrun by visitors. For now, properties like Regnum are happy to have their guests stay there for the golf and take a day tour of the Roman ruins. But what if they all came for the history? That would fundamentally change the way these historical destinations operate.
Pelin Tanca, the co-founder of TAY Istanbul, a travel and event management company, says historical tourism is more complicated than it looks. Most visitors come with more than one thing on their to-do list. They’re here for a destination wedding and they want to see the Roman ruins. Or they want to play nine holes and then see Hadrian’s Gate. Pulling that off takes some expertise.
“Within the same trip, you can hike on The Lycian Way, visit ancient ruins, taste delicacies, and at the end, lie on the beach,” she says.
What if you want to do a historical tour this summer?
Find a qualified travel advisor. You’ll probably need an expert to help you plan a heritage vacation. Check the American Society of Travel Advisors site and look for someone who specializes in the destination you plan to visit.
Consider a tour. Historical tours are difficult to plan and execute. There are so many moving parts, and there are often language barriers. A tour operator can help you cut through that, and you might also get a better deal since tour operators buy their trip components in bulk. You can find a list of vetted tour operators at the United States Tour Operators Association site.
Get a guide. If you don’t join a tour, then at least consider hiring a professional guide. You can stroll around the ruins on your own and Google every site, but you’re better off finding someone who can show you around. That’s particularly true for sites that could be dangerous, with rock outcroppings or cliffs. You can check Viator or Getyourguide for details. But find a pro. Seriously.
One thing is clear: The summer of 2022 will be one for historical discovery. And for many Americans, it isn’t a question of if they will take a heritage tour in the coming months, but which one.
