Hi from Rick: Recess Time...and We Need It
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| Smart travelers never regret investing in experiences that enrich their lives. |
Dear Traveler,
After six months of watching the news media fixate on how our economy has failed to sustain unsustainable growth, I'm ready for a break. In a few days I'll pack up and fly off to Europe. First comes Spain (I can already taste the paella), then Italy, and on to Croatia. It's all part of our shared obsession here to research and produce the best travel tools — tours, guidebooks, radio and TV shows — to help people enjoy more enriching experiences.
We are in tough economic times. For many, employment concerns may put their travel dreams on hold. But for millions of others, 2009 will bring more European fun.
And that makes perfect sense. I've never met anyone who traveled smartly and regretted their investment in experiences that would enrich their lives for the rest of their days.
Simply looking forward to a trip is part of that enrichment, and we're doing more this spring to help nudge your peace of mind a bit.
This month we've added a job loss benefit to our Tour Cancellation Coverage. I see two benefits coming from this: the dozen or so people who've paid for a tour and then lose their jobs will get money back, and we will have done a good and decent thing for them. But more importantly, the infinitely greater number of people who fear the possibility of unemployment (but who, when all is said and done, will keep on working as always), may get enough added peace of mind from the coverage that they'll truly enjoy the anticipation of their upcoming trip.
So, have we tossed in this coverage just to sell more tours? Here's my answer: if I can help people who love travel get past their fears and have experiences of a lifetime, I'd say everybody wins.
For details on this — and some unapologetically fun features on summer travel — check out our April Tour News.
So shove some of that worry aside, and make room for some dreaming. That's why they invented spring.
Happy travels,
Rick Steves