Reid Coen
Imprint Tours
Reid Coen is a 25 year veteran of the travel industry. His educational background is in history and education, achieving a BA and MA in history from Western Washington University and a K-12 teaching certificate from the University of Washington. His enthusiasm for travel was kindled by a year of school abroad in Germany and Sweden at age 20. His love for travel took him back to Europe for 3 years in the early 80s where he worked in hotels and restaurants in Switzerland and Greece. Reid considers travel to be far more than a recreational pursuit, but rather a life-changing experience. Travel has provided him with a new and ever expanding frame of reference for understanding both foreign and American cultures and for evaluating his own values.
Reid was hired to be a tour guide by Rick Steves in 1996. The passions, interests, and experiences of the previous two decades coalesced in the perfect job. As a guide for Rick Steves’ Europe he managed tours in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Netherlands, France, Greece, Czech Republic, the UK, Spain, and Portugal. Additionally, he worked as a travel consultant and public speaker. In 2005 he launched his own tour company, Imprint Tours, taking small groups to primarily non-European destinations. Tours on offer include: Thailand, Bali, India, East & Southern Africa, New Zealand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Japan, Greek Islands, Danube River cruise, Morocco, China, Peru, Patagonia, and Antarctica. In 2019 Imprint inaugurated a domestic tour program with an American West Tour, and will add the American Southwest, and the Best of Colorado in 2021. Future projects include Southern India, Ecuador/Galapagos, China off the Beaten Track, and the Himalayas.
While based on the travel philosophy of Rick Steves, Imprint tours are slightly more adventurous, catering to a slightly more independent and intrepid traveler. Like Rick Steves, the tours seek to emphasize education, understand the regional history, and invest in an understanding of the local culture. But Imprint’s offerings are slightly more experience based and willing to forgo luxury to facilitate those genuine cultural connection experiences. Additionally, the choice to travel to non-western destinations is not random. That selection is based on Reid’s personal travel experiences and the impacts they had on him.
The European travels of his 20s had a dramatic effect which he describes as having “exploded” his horizons. But that impact, as profound as it was, was multiplied substantially by travels beyond the cultural boundaries of Europe. There is a spectacular, diverse, and fascinating world of discovery and those who don’t venture beyond Europe read only one chapter in the book of travel. Reid has made it his mission to introduce as many travelers as possible to those new horizons.
For more on Reid and his tour program, visit
www.imprinttours.com