Current Activities
Steves advocates independent travel. His books and media deal with travel mainly in Europe, and are directed at an American audience. As host, writer, and producer of the popular and long running Oregon Public Broadcasting television series Rick Steves' Europe, and through his travel books, he encourages Americans to become what he calls "temporary locals." He encourages his readers and viewers to discover not only major cities, but also cozy villages away from popular tourist routes. Steves' television series, guidebooks, radio shows, mobile applications, and his company's European escorted bus tours attract fans known as "Rickniks".
Steves' relationship with public television began with his first series, Travels in Europe with Rick Steves, in 1991. Since then, he has become one of public television's top pledge drive hosts, raising millions of dollars annually for stations across the U.S. He writes and co-produces his television programs through his own production company, Back Door Productions.
Since self-publishing his first book in 1980, Steves has written country guidebooks, city and regional guides, phrase books, and co-authored Europe 101: History and Art for Travelers. His guidebook to Italy is the bestselling international guidebook in the U.S. In 1999, he started writing in a new genre of travel writing with his anecdotal Postcards from Europe, recounting his favorite moments from his many years of travel. Steves' books are published by Avalon Travel Publishing, a member of the Perseus Books Group. In 2009, Steves published the book Travel as a Political Act, a guide to political advocacy based on his travels.
In addition to his guidebooks and television shows, Steves has expanded into radio, newspaper and mobile applications. In 2005, Steves launched a weekly public radio program, Travel with Rick Steves. Focusing on world travel, each program has a guest travel expert for interviews, followed by call-ins with questions and comments. In 2006, Steves became a syndicated newspaper columnist with his Tribune Media Services column. In 2010, he launched the mobile application Rick Steves' Audio Europe, a library of audio content (including self-guided walking tours) organized into geographic-specific playlists for the iPhone and Android.
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