Nowadays is a profoundly unhappy working day. Russia’s aggressive motion is heartbreaking for the demise, suffering, and economic turmoil it will cause in Ukraine and, indirectly at minimum, over and above. Below at Rick Steves’ Europe, we hope that a diplomatic resolution can be uncovered and peace will return to that fragile and long-suffering element of our globe.
Our mission at RSE is to help Us citizens better know and understand our neighbors by vacation. But when we bring travelers to a different country, we also deliver their pounds — bucks that would help Putin’s aggression. Therefore, as of today, we have canceled all 2022 excursions that include things like a quit in Russia.
Of system, we will keep a near eye on unfolding activities and watch any vacation impacts by means of the rest of Europe. But it is essential to preserve geographic realities in mind and don’t forget that a war in Ukraine is as much from our European trip goals as a war in Guatemala would be from Texas or Florida. For 40 a long time now, we have lived, labored, and traveled through numerous intervals of tragic warfare in lands much from wherever we lead our tours (and some nearer). And at this time, we see no cause to modify the rest of our journey and touring strategies.
The tragic fact unfolding in Ukraine only reminds me how critical it is for Us residents to maintain on traveling and to do so in a way that will make us greater and far more engaged citizens of our world. I’m flying to Europe future thirty day period for a 40-day excursion through a dozen terrific towns from London to Athens — and I’m proud that countless numbers of my fellow tourists will practical experience the European journey of their dreams though having prosperous finding out ordeals much from residence on a 2022 Rick Steves tour.
In the meantime, let’s be thankful for our blessings, aid our nation’s leaders as they do their best to navigate this disaster, and hold the troubled corners of our environment (Ukraine, Russia, Afghanistan, and more) in our ideas and prayers.
—Rick
