An interview with Rick

Mike, I heard Rick speak at the DC Travel Show this morning. Some familiar advice but also new takes based on how things are in 2026. Rick has a lot of energy, a good sense of humor, and a no-nonsense approach. He received affirming applause and "now we're talking" responses from the standing room only audience members after many of his comments. Glad I had the chance to hear him again!

I listened. My report...

When asked about new travel opportunities in Europe for experienced European travelers, Rick's single offering was a barge tour, taken with his girlfriend recently in Burgundy France. No longer a true industrial-age barge, this was a "floating boutique hotel" in his words, with its own gourmet chef. Sounds nice. Nothing else?

When asked about how he approaches travel at a time of heightened political tensions, he eventually got around to something resembling an answer - that none of the 30,000 customers he took to Europe this past year said they'd been treated badly by Europeans. But prior to that, I was treated to his usual political statements, without which no interview is complete.

When asked if there was an instance where a single tour participant's eyes had been opened to other ways of thinking, I was hoping to hear a good story, but he did not offer one example. It got kind of wonky here. He repeated his already familiar travel philosophy about travel's ability to open they eyes of Americans to other ways of thinking, to help them learn more about their home by looking at it from abroad, etc., adding that once back home, they'll be better able to "engage constructively with the world." He said his company is distinguished from others because it asks participants to "raise the bar" of cultural experience by embracing culture shock. He also claimed that European travel will somehow help us deal with the "fear that is randsacking our country right now." Uh-huh.

At the end, when asked which unvisited destination he'd like to visit, he nominates a trip to a luxury resort in the South Pacific. But he's not doing that because he needs to return to Portugal to make improvements on his guidebook.

To sum it up... If you've heard RS interviewed before, you'll get to hear pretty much the same thing again with this. Lots of glowing generalities about European travel and his company's importance in curing American narrow-mindedness and replacing our fear with understanding. Sounded less like a gift and more like "more of the same" to me.

"More of the same" would be good for me.

I've made some edits. Yes, Rick talks about politics in his own spaces, but don't bring it here. This forum is not for bringing up politics as it causes a number of problems every time. If you'd like to comment about other aspects of the interview, that's fair game as long as your sticking to the forum's Community Guidelines.