TRAVEL
Rick Steves Cancels All Tours With Stops in Russia
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European travel guru Rick Steves has announced his company will cancel all 2022 tours with stops in Russia.
In a blog post titled “Comrades no More,” Steves condemned Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine, telling readers, “when we bring travelers to another country, we also bring their dollars – dollars that would support Putin’s aggression. Therefore, as of today, we have canceled all 2022 tours that include a stop in Russia.”
Steves revealed his company would be keeping a “close eye on unfolding events” but would not be canceling any further European tours at this time. He noted the importance of keeping “geographical realities in mind,” reminding Americans that “a war in Ukraine is as far from our European vacation dreams as a war in Guatemala would be from Texas or Florida.”
Steves also reminded fans about the importance of travel, writing on his blog, “The tragic reality unfolding in Ukraine only reminds me how important it is for Americans to keep on traveling and to do so in a way that makes us better and more engaged citizens of our world.”
“There’s a brutality in what Putin is doing, and I want nothing to do with it,” Steves said in an interview with the Washington Post. “And I want him to feel the impact in just a little symbolic way. It’s my hope that people in St. Petersburg who are going to feel the pinch of these cancelations are going to realize that Putin’s actions are isolating Russia from the rest of the world.”
