These days is a profoundly sad day. Russia’s intense motion is heartbreaking for the demise, struggling, and financial turmoil it will cause in Ukraine and, indirectly at minimum, over and above. In this article at Rick Steves’ Europe, we hope that a diplomatic resolution can be discovered and peace will return to that fragile and prolonged-suffering component of our world.
Our mission at RSE is to aid People in america much better know and fully grasp our neighbors by way of journey. But when we convey tourists to yet another region, we also carry their pounds — dollars that would support Putin’s aggression. For that reason, as of these days, we have canceled all 2022 tours that include things like a stop in Russia.
Of training course, we will maintain a shut eye on unfolding gatherings and monitor any travel impacts by the relaxation of Europe. But it is significant to continue to keep geographic realities in thoughts and recall that a war in Ukraine is as far from our European vacation desires as a war in Guatemala would be from Texas or Florida. For 40 a long time now, we have lived, labored, and traveled through quite a few intervals of tragic warfare in lands considerably from the place we direct our tours (and some nearer). And at this time, we see no rationale to change the rest of our journey and touring designs.
The tragic reality unfolding in Ukraine only reminds me how important it is for Us residents to retain on touring and to do so in a way that would make us much better and a lot more engaged citizens of our entire world. I’m traveling to Europe future month for a 40-day excursion as a result of a dozen terrific metropolitan areas from London to Athens — and I’m very pleased that thousands of my fellow vacationers will knowledge the European vacation of their desires when having rich studying encounters considerably from home on a 2022 Rick Steves tour.
In the meantime, let us be grateful for our blessings, help our nation’s leaders as they do their ideal to navigate this disaster, and preserve the troubled corners of our planet (Ukraine, Russia, Afghanistan, and extra) in our feelings and prayers.
—Rick
