Because of the amount of Americans he has persuaded to travel to Europe, Rick Steves is known as America’s European travel authority. His business, which annually transports 30,000 individuals to Europe, was recently affected severely by the pandemic. To fill in the gaps in his schedule, the travel writer began cooking and playing the piano.
Rick Steves has made a profession out of transporting people to new places and pique their interest in new areas. Despite being a businessman, Steves prioritizes his employees and customers over profit, which he says is the cause for his success. The pandemic, on the other hand, forced the travel enthusiast to close his business and huddle down.
Steves, on the other hand, didn’t complain about not being able to travel. Instead, he used the opportunity to broaden his knowledge and try out activities that he otherwise would not have had the time or inclination to do while at work.
The Pandemic’s Impact on Steve’s Business
Rick Steves’ net worth is estimated to be around $10 million, based on his travel business. Rick Steves’ Europe, his travel company, used to take around 30000 people to Europe every year, bringing in over $100 million in sales before the pandemic.
However, Steves’ travel firm was unable to operate due to the coronavirus outbreak and lockdown. It employs roughly 100 people in its office, and it now has millions of dollars in expenses but no revenue. Because there was no way of knowing when the world will return to normal, Steves drastically reduced his payroll to keep the company afloat for the next two years or longer. He even fully refunded all prepaid clients’ 2020 travel payments.
Rick Steves is doing a self-guided tour of his life.
The current predicament has driven him to be interested in things that he had overlooked in his life as an adventurous person. He learnt to cook and play the piano, all of which he had little time or interest in before.
Even in the midst of a crisis, Steves appears upbeat. “So I’m showing to myself that the way travel adds more colors to your palette, being at home with a traveler’s perspective can add more colors to your palette as well,” he said.
At a young age, Steves fell in love with travel
Steves’ first trip to Europe was with his parents when he was 14, with the goal of improving their piano store. However, the experience transformed his perspective on travel, and he was immediately hooked.
He chose to travel rather than enter his family’s business. To share his passion for travel, he began offering travel classes. Steve’s debut novel, Europe Through the Back Door, was published in 1979.
Rick Steves’ Europe, his second travel show, premiered in 2000, and featured ideas on how to travel on a budget, locate hidden treasures in Europe, and offer knowledge about the nations he visited. The show was a hit and is still on the air.
Steves has a distinct travel philosophy that sets him apart from others: he feels that the best way to genuinely experience a destination is to become a temporary local. He suggests avoiding the tourist traps and instead visiting tiny communities and restaurants.
He travels to Europe for four months every year
Steves’ love of travel is evident in his way of life. He travels to Europe four times a year to research guidebooks, improve his tour programs, shoot his TV show, and discover fresh and undiscovered jewels.
Small businesses, family-owned eateries, people-to-people encounters, and activities that cultivate camaraderie with locals are all highlights of his Europe excursions. Rick Steves’ Europe is in its 11th season, he broadcasts a public radio show, and he is a prolific writer for a newspaper, and he has published over 50 guidebooks.
