Aspiring Travel Writer of the Week: Renee Tsang of Life is Too Short to Stay Home
Renee Tsang’s website is Life is Too Short to Stay Home was launched in 2014.
Bio: Renee Tsang is a travel professional, travel writer, family travel specialist and Disney vacation planner extraordinaire! She is a self-employed travel advisor who plans and books unforgettable vacations, specializing in family travel and Disney destinations.
As a global ambassador for travel, Renee inspires parents to invest in their families with travel experiences. Travel is the best education a parent can give their child and the experience and memories they gain will be far more valuable than anything money can buy.
Based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Renee is mom to 2 crazily energetic and hilariously goofy kids who keep her forever young. Between sitting in front of a laptop, or playing chauffeur to her kids to all their activities, you’ll find Renee enjoying a glass of wine while planning their annual research trips to Disney. Because “life is too short to stay home!”
Here is Renee’s Q&A About her Life as a Travel Blogger
Renee Tsang is a part-time blogger as well as a travel advisor for planning and booking travel and vacation experiences for clients.
If Part-Time, what is your day job? I am a travel advisor planning and booking vacation and travel experiences for clients, specializing in family travel, multi-generational family and group trips, Disney vacations, and romance travel for honeymoons and destination weddings.
How long have you been a blogger? I have been writing for 6 years now, ever since I started my travel agency business, I decided to start writing and documenting my own adventures to share personal experiences with clients.
Where do you call home? Calgary, Alberta, Canada
How many countries have you been to? 8
How many continents have you been to? 3
Top 5 destinations on your travel to-do list: New Zealand, Australia, Tahiti & South Pacific, Japan, Africa
Earliest travel memory:
My earliest travel memory is of Disneyland! We drove from Saskatchewan, Canada and embarked on a three-week road trip and visiting Disneyland was the best part. It is probably why it holds such a special place in my heart, and has inspired me to become a travel agent that specializes in Disney destinations as the memories that are imprinted on you as a child never leave. You will always have those memories and it is an experience I wish everyone could have.
Favorite Travel Blogger: Casey Starnes with Disneyland Daily
Favorite Travel Photographer: Tom Bricker with Disney Tourist Blog
The trip that turned Renee from a vacationer to a traveler: I don’t think I was a “vacationer”. Even traveling as a child with my family, we were always travelers, looking for experiences rather than “relaxing” as a vacation. We were always on the go, looking for things to see and do, to experience the destination rather than sitting back to relax.
The trip that turned Renee into a travel writer/blogger/photographer: When I started my travel agency business, it opened my eyes to how I can view experiences, not only for myself but also the potential for clients. No longer was I looking for options that suited my own travel style, I was viewing everything from the possibilities for others and it allowed me to see things from different angles. Having the experience and the photos allowed me to share the experience and expertise as a blogger and as a travel advisor.
Renee’s first steps to become a travel writer/blogger/photographer: When you are passionate about what you do, your mind is open to possibilities and you are inspired to make it happen and learn as much as you can to make those dreams come true. I started with a blog, just for me to write about my journey into a new business without any specific goals in mind. But it was more just space for me to share. I took that opportunity to learn as much as I can about writing, blogging, website design, SEO, and a lot of the back end technical side of websites.
How I travel: I like to plan trips. As a travel agent, I spend each day planning trips for other people and tend to plan my own trips last! But at the same time, I’m always thinking about potential things I can see and do for my own trip so it’s a combination of both work (researching the things I want to see, do and experience as a client) and also making sure I do the things I really want to do. By organizing my own trips, I like to set the pace at which I see and do things but I also realize that it is not very “relaxing” at all.
However, when there is a media or press trip opportunity that comes up for a place that I would love to visit and experience, I find they are great opportunities as they highlight the best experiences that are meant to be shared!
The social media platform driving the most traffic to my site is: Facebook. It tends to be where most people still hang out and look for information so it’s still important to be socially active on Facebook, even though it may be more challenging to get visibility.
My favorite tool/app for social media: Facebook to stay connected with family and friends, and Instagram for all the pretty pictures.
My favorite WordPress plugin: YOAST SEO because it’s easy to use
Organizations I belong to: Travel Massive, ACTA (Association of Travel Advisors).
If only I had the time, I’d do/finish…… : I would work on marketing more. It’s something I know I need to work on to continue to be visible to new clients, but I find it is the area I struggle with the most is in marketing myself. I am also working on publishing my second book. I recently published my first book last fall, “I’ll Never Grow Up! The Bare Necessities of Planning Your Disneyland Vacation” and want to follow up with a second book that is focused on Walt Disney World in Orlando. There is so much more to know about Disney World so it’s just a matter of finding the time amongst everything else!
My top tip for aspiring travel writers and bloggers!
Just start somewhere. Don’t get too caught up in the details. Just start writing, sharing your thoughts, your stories and finding your voice. Once you get into your rhythm, everything will fall into place and you will find that things will naturally flow from that.
Just like the quote “Dance like no one is watching”, I tend to apply that to writing as well, “Write as though no one is reading”. It takes the stress away from writing for someone, and instead you just focus on writing for yourself. Your voice and your style will come through as you hone your writing skills.
Best travel tip for travelers: Pack less. Mostly everything you need is replaceable or easy to obtain wherever you go. Just take the essentials you absolutely need, and make sure you have a “go to” travel bag so that if you need to travel on short notice, you just grab your bag with all your essentials and you are good to go!
Connect with Renee!
Website: www.ReneeTsangTravel.com is my main travel business website, and my personal blog is www.Lifeistooshorttostayhome.com
Social: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
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More Travel Blogger of the Week Features!
Travel Writer of the Week: Bob Bales of The Traveling Fool
Aspiring Travel Writer of the Week: Maggie McKneely with Pink Caddy Travelogue
Aspiring Travel Writer of the Week: Jorge and Claudia with Travel Drafts
Nominate a friend (or yourself!) as our next Aspiring Travel Writer of the Week!
I invite you to be a featured ATW (Aspiring Travel Writer) of the week. As ATW of the week, you will be featured on my travel website, 52Perfectdays.com and the BreakintoTravelWriting.com website! Here are all the details! breakintotravelwriting.com/aspiring-travel-writer-of-the-week-guidelines/
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