Below you will find the opening to WESTERN CANADA IN LESS THAN A MONTH, a publication that is available on Amazon!
"Canada, the second largest country in the world in terms of total area, has ten provinces and three territories. Each section of Canada, from the maritime provinces in the far east to the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean in the west, has numerous tourist destinations that have attracted visitors from all points of the globe. However Canada is so large that it is often difficult for tourists to visit the country in depth on just one visit. Typically those who come to Canada on their annual vacations must therefore select a handful of places to visit of the dozens of Canadian destinations that might pique their interests.
In this book I draw upon my personal resources, whether in regard to personal travel experience or professional work experience as a tourist industry employee, to put together a feasible and cost-effective trip through Alberta and British Columbia that can be enjoyed in less than one month. Western Canada is where I have spent the bulk of my life so far as a 36-year old Canadian and hence travel in western Canada is where I can advise with expertise. I have worked and/or lived in Edmonton, Vancouver, Calgary, Prince George, Banff, Jasper, Nanaimo, and Tofino. As a result I have an abundance of travel knowledge about those destinations and the surrounding areas.
Those that read this ebook should benefit from the travel tips and information that you will get from a local writer, hospitality employee, and traveler, information that you cannot really get from travel reviews - at least not without reading thousands of them. It’s my opinion that tourists to a region can certainly impart knowledge on future tourists however the local travel workers are the highest authorities when it comes to regional knowledge. I have enjoyed a career working in the hospitality industry and I have also worked for travel websites in the past. As such, I am familiar with the issues that travelers face and I was cognizant of them as I wrote this ebook. I do not assume that travelers have a limitless budget and if I think a tourist attraction is overrated, instead of trying to market it as many other writers do, I state why I think it should be avoided.
What is offered in the pages that follow is not only a guide to tourists of western Canada but an itinerary for people who need advice on where to visit when time limitations are a factor. For most people, limited vacation time is a fact of life and it’s my opinion that many people who visit western Canada may have less than one month to enjoy themselves before having to return to their home for work, school, or family. The itinerary set forth in this publication is by no means one that must be rigidly followed. Rather prospective tourists can use it as a guide and a resource that will help them become more aware of what western Canada offers.
Admittedly, when I wrote this itinerary I had the British or European traveller in mind more than others. However I think all readers, regardless of where they are from, can extract useful information and travel tips from the itinerary as there are certainly facts that can educate all prospective tourists to western Canada. If you are not sure what to visit and what to skip on your limited time in western Canada, then this ebook provides at least food for thought if not a feasible trip with up-to-date pricing on services following a major update to the ebook in November of 2013, one that had the 2014 season in mind.
In composing this book, my acknowledgements are few as I have relied heavily on my own personal experience. I do consult websites for pricing of services and I list those websites at the end of each “day” in the itinerary as I think it helps connect tourists to businesses or websites that help tourists. Many of the photos are ones that I own while another major contributor is my personal friend James Meronyk, an enthusiast for the mountain parks of Alberta and British Columbia, who I thank for the generous photo donations. The cover photo is one that I purchased from BigStockPhoto.com from username “rchoi.” One or more of the other photos that you see are photos that the photographers have released into the public domain to be used for any purpose.
I am critical of some travel guides for being too lengthy and it is my belief that prospective tourists do not want to spend more time researching their destinations than they actually spend visiting them. Accordingly, I aimed to keep this guide readable in two sittings. All prices mentioned in this ebook are CAD (Canadian dollar) and were accurate as of November 2013. If you are reading this in 2014 or even 2015 then do not expect the prices to have jumped that significantly. Let us now begin our journey through western Canada with Edmonton, Alberta our starting point."
