Bill Tomicki

William "Bill" Tomicki is an American travel writer. Since 1981 he is the publisher of the ENTREE Travel Newsletter,[1] which has been called the "Rolls Royce of travel newsletters" where "Each month Mr. Tomicki skewers the mediocre and exalts excellence so that his readers do not waste their time and money" -- New York Journal of Books.[2] Tomicki claims he personally writes "60 to 70 percent of the content based on his own travels."[3] The Seattle Times calls him "outspoken."[4] Larry Mogelonsky calls him "a well-heeled, globetrotting travel writer, (through his newsletter) he has provided readers with insider knowledge on hotels and restaurants."[5] A good review from Tomicki is republished[6][1] or becomes quoted in advertising.[7]

He practices what he writes about, the art of "Extreme Travel." The wide variety places he has visited rolls off the tongue with a casual nature. He has visited over 100 countries.[8] Will McGough of the Santa Barbara Entrepreneur calls him "Santa Barbara's version of "the most interesting man in the world."[9]

He has single-handedly scaled a sacred aboriginal mountain in Australia, lived with Masai warriors in Kenya, danced on the Great Wall of China, climbed to the top of Angkor Wat at sundown, eaten piranhas in the Brazilian Amazon, hunted jaguars in Belize, galloped horses through the royal woods of Versailles, boxed with heavyweight champ Mike Weaver, bicycled through Tuscany, witnessed private voodoo ceremonies in Haiti and ridden elephants at a palace in India.[9]

While there is a story behind every adventure some of Tomicki's accomplishments:

• The youngest Vice President in the history of Tiffany & Co. in New York
• Vice President of Sotheby's before he turned 30
• A successful real estate developer
• Member of The Explorers Club at age 21
• Set to retire at age 39
• Nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2006[9]
• Has been Knighted in France and Portugal
• Won a million dollars in a lottery, by accident[8]

He also serves as Travel and Restaurant Editor for the American-International News Syndicate, Travel Editor for El Paso Inc. Magazine[10] Senior Editor for Traveler Overseas Magazine[11] and a Contributor to the Zagat Survey Los Angeles. He has been a member of the International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA)[12] He is also a former syndicated Travel Writer for the New York Times.[13][14][11]

Most newspapers and magazines tend to be too PR oriented. I try to tell it as it is, talk to the reader as a friend, tips where to go, where not to go.[15]

In an article, Tomicki was asked if hoteliers ever spend time in their own hotels.

We guess not, judging by the missteps we find so often, like square soaps, soaps that are wrapped too tightly with plastic or paper ... We hate soap dispensers in the bath, phones we cannot figure out, lighting that takes a visit from the engineer to decipher and any hotel that puts so much reading crap in the room that you can't find a place for your own crap. And stop turning the radio on when we are not there, please. And not coming back for the room service table.

— Santa Barbara Independent[16]