Rick Steves

I wish... Europe was an oasis with women with jugs on their heads getting water, you know, that idyllic old world thing. But it's not. And tourism is a big part of the economy. And I don't know, I'm kind of perplexed about it. Occasionally I find a place that cannot handle the crowds and I will not write it up. You know, it's just too fragile.

I wish... Europe was an oasis with women with jugs on their heads getting water, you know, that idyllic old world thing. But it's not. And tourism is a big part of the economy. And I don't know, I'm kind of perplexed about it. Occasionally I find a place that cannot handle the crowds and I will not write it up. You know, it's just too fragile.

Occasionally I find a place that doesn't want the crowds. That's pretty rare, to be honest. And I don't write it up because I don't want to send people to a place where they're not welcome.

Occasionally I find a place that doesn't want the crowds. That's pretty rare, to be honest. And I don't write it up because I don't want to send people to a place where they're not welcome.

Yeah. But generally, I've got to be honest, I'm like... I'm the hired hand of my readers to find the best places over there and give them what they need to enjoy it. I would say there's good tourism and bad tourism from the point of view of people who live in these towns.

Yeah. But generally, I've got to be honest, I'm like... I'm the hired hand of my readers to find the best places over there and give them what they need to enjoy it. I would say there's good tourism and bad tourism from the point of view of people who live in these towns.

And the people who are angry with the tourists are not angry with my kind of travelers who come in and stay in a hotel and buy dinner and are curious about the culture. What they don't like is people that blitz in on mass tourism by cruise ships or tour buses that stay in a big modern hotel outside of the city. And the people don't leave anything in the town except their congestion.

And the people who are angry with the tourists are not angry with my kind of travelers who come in and stay in a hotel and buy dinner and are curious about the culture. What they don't like is people that blitz in on mass tourism by cruise ships or tour buses that stay in a big modern hotel outside of the city. And the people don't leave anything in the town except their congestion.

There's consequences of travel. We have to deal with the white elephant in the room, and that would be climate change and how travelers contribute to that. And that could be a whole other discussion. But my challenge is to recognize that people can travel, people can contribute to climate change, and people can come home having just exacerbated the gap between them and the rest of the world.

There's consequences of travel. We have to deal with the white elephant in the room, and that would be climate change and how travelers contribute to that. And that could be a whole other discussion. But my challenge is to recognize that people can travel, people can contribute to climate change, and people can come home having just exacerbated the gap between them and the rest of the world.

It's remarkable to me how people can travel and not be impacted by what they see. My challenge is to try to inspire people to be thoughtful. And the most frightened people are the people who've never traveled, whose worldview is shaped by commercial news media. And the people that are not afraid are the people who have been out there and met the enemy.

It's remarkable to me how people can travel and not be impacted by what they see. My challenge is to try to inspire people to be thoughtful. And the most frightened people are the people who've never traveled, whose worldview is shaped by commercial news media. And the people that are not afraid are the people who have been out there and met the enemy.

And I think my most powerful travel experiences have been going places where I'm not supposed to go. Cuba, Palestine, Iran. You can't always go to these kind of places. I would never go to places that are dangerous, but I've had great travel experiences in places where you'd be surprised I've gone to.

And I think my most powerful travel experiences have been going places where I'm not supposed to go. Cuba, Palestine, Iran. You can't always go to these kind of places. I would never go to places that are dangerous, but I've had great travel experiences in places where you'd be surprised I've gone to.

The friendliest people, the most curious people, the people that need to meet me and I need to meet them. When they meet me, it's tougher for their propaganda to demonize me. And when I meet them, it's tougher for my country's propaganda to dehumanize them. It's a powerful thing. We become less afraid of each other. The flip side of fear is understanding, and we gain understanding when we travel.

The friendliest people, the most curious people, the people that need to meet me and I need to meet them. When they meet me, it's tougher for their propaganda to demonize me. And when I meet them, it's tougher for my country's propaganda to dehumanize them. It's a powerful thing. We become less afraid of each other. The flip side of fear is understanding, and we gain understanding when we travel.

And that alone makes travel a worthwhile experience. And when it's done thoughtfully, we come home and we live our lives as more thankful than ever that we're American citizens, but also better citizens of the planet. And that just makes my life richer. It makes it more filled with truth, and it gives more colors to my palette. I'm just really thankful for that kind of a souvenir.

And that alone makes travel a worthwhile experience. And when it's done thoughtfully, we come home and we live our lives as more thankful than ever that we're American citizens, but also better citizens of the planet. And that just makes my life richer. It makes it more filled with truth, and it gives more colors to my palette. I'm just really thankful for that kind of a souvenir.

There's regrets. It has not been good for relationships with loved ones. And I'm aware of that. And in a way, I'm sad about it, but you have to make a choice.

There's regrets. It has not been good for relationships with loved ones. And I'm aware of that. And in a way, I'm sad about it, but you have to make a choice.