How do Europeans feel about American visitors? Tour guides (including a Czech one) speak out

Travel guru Rick Steves recently revealed the most frequent question he hears from American travelers, and it isn’t about museum hours or train schedules.

With 200 of his European guides leading more than 35,000 Americans across 40 itineraries this year, he says one question keeps coming up, spurred by what travelers describe as recent “political dysfunction” in the U.S. and broader uncertainty about the country’s direction: “How will I be received in Europe?”

In a video accompanying a Facebook post this weekend Steves invited his local guides from across the continent to send two-minute video messages back to the States. Featured among them is a guide from Czechia.

He notes that many of these guides, including those from Turkey and Poland, recognize the echoes of their own national struggles (such as the threat of "Project 2025" or "wannabe autocrats") and are reaching out to travelers from the U.S. with a mix of concern and solidarity.

The video features Jana Hronková, a guide from Czechia, standing before the Velvet Revolution memorial on Národní Street—the site of the 1989 student uprising—to offer a perspective forged in the shadow of the Iron Curtain.

For Hronková, the monument isn't just a stop on a tour; it’s a testament to the fact that change is always possible.

"The generation of my parents lived in a totalitarian regime with the hope that change is possible," Jana says, placing a flower at the memorial for those standing up for freedom worldwide.

She reminds viewers that her parents never gave up, eventually witnessing the fall of the Iron Curtain, a legacy of hope she now passes on to an increasingly anxious American audience.

"We have to stay engaged, speak up, and defend democratic values, and support each other," she says.

Steves goes on to say in the post that while Europeans may be "saddened and disappointed" by the headlines, they still welcome the individual traveler with open arms.

"If you’re curious, respectful, and polite (and not wearing an angry red hat), you’ll be received warmly and judged as reasonable Europeans judge any traveler: as an individual," he says.

A pioneering travel guide writer, PBS personality, and activist, Steves has become an increasingly vocal critic of Donald Trump, frequently comparing his political actions and rhetoric to a "fascist autocrat's playbook."

Following Trump's second election, he published an Inauguration Day Special video looking at the new administration's policies from a European perspective which included insights from Americans living in the Czechia.

Recent data suggests the post-pandemic surge in American travel to Europe may be losing momentum. While U.S. arrivals are still growing, they are projected to rise by just over 4 percent this year, a marked slowdown compared to recent years, reports Reuters.

Industry analysts say softer American demand is linked to economic concerns and geopolitical uncertainty. Booking data also shows a dip in transatlantic travel. However, overall tourism spending in Europe rose nearly 10 percent last year, with Indian and Chinese tourists filling the gap left by Americans, Reuters says.