By now, everyone is tired of New Year’s greetings and is well into the various tasks facing them. At ITMB, we worked right through the Christmas week to ensure that several exciting new titles would be able to go to press as soon as our printers re-opened after their break. We have experienced delays in getting maps back from the printers over the past couple of months, due to unusually heavy demands on them from other customers, but we expect faster service now that the Boxing Week sales are ancient history.

            I am sending this letter out just before leaving for a research trip to western Texas and to the IMTA Planning Session in Phoenix, Arizona. Five new titles were delivered to us in the days just before our departure, which are included below, even if we are a bit behind in issuing press releases. This gets us off to a strong beginning for 2007. Hope springs eternal that travel will rebound to the glory days of pre-9/11, but statistics make this difficult to accept. Our world remains unsettled and politically volatile, and this creates uncertainty. Most travelers are the more affluent over-40 group. I’m feeling that this part of the market is less interested in exotic travel than was the case a decade ago, as evidenced by such statistical evidence as the number of Canadians crossing into the USA has now fallen to its lowest level since they started keeping records (an amazing admission of utter failure by the governments of both countries).

A TRAVEL STORY TO START THE NEW YEAR

            A man in Bangkok (nationality unknown) sued Air France when they told him at check-in that he would have to occupy and be billed for two seats, due to his girth (distance around his waist). He weighed 160kg, or about 256lb, but was so rotund that he could not fit into a single seat. He was measured around the waist and became infuriated when advised that airline policy would not permit him on the plane in a single seat. At the trial, Air France’s lawyer pointed out that their policy was well-known and was posted on their web site, but the telling point came when the airline’s lawyer pointed to the man and noted that he had been occupying two seats throughout the trial, as he could not fit into one chair!

AN ACTUAL LETTER RECEIVED BY ITMB, UNEMBELLISHED

“I need 3 current maps of Venezuela, home of my wife and her three sons (except the one who ran off to Cuba with a Cuban doctor sent by Fidel to Venezuela). Please advise payment details.”

Here’s another great story, translated by Lan from a local Vietnamese paper. A man in the USA was held up at gunpoint during a sales transaction. As soon as possible, he called 911 for the police, who responded promptly and caught the culprit. The man calling the police, upset at being robbed, was a drug dealer, and the transaction was heroin. Guess what happened next?

            If I had to make up stories, I couldn’t come up with anything this good. Life’s wonderful; you never know what’s going to happen next.

ORDERS ARE COMING IN

            I wish to thank all of the distributors who have placed orders with us so far this month. It’s great to be busy, but we’re also snowed under with paperwork. I’ve brought extra staff in to pick purchase orders, and we’re processing them as quickly as we can, but please don’t get upset if service is a bit slower than normal. Staff are doing the best they can, and I’m really sorry that I’m not in Vancouver at this moment. I worked until 2:00am on the day we left for Phoenix – and three more orders arrived after I finally turned off the computer.

 

QUOTE OF THE YEAR FOR 2006

            I accord the most appropriate quote of the year (first credited to Richard Nixon for loudly proclaiming “I am NOT a crook!!!” and seconded by Bill Clinton’s fervent “I have NOT had sex with that woman!!) to Vancouver’s new mayor. Sam Sullivan may not be all that famous, but he is a quadriplegic confined to a wheelchair and paralyzed from the waist down, who said during his recent electoral campaign about his opponent “I’m going to keep my foot on his goddamned neck and I’m just going to keep pressing and see if the guy can breathe at the end of it all”. Now try and imagine George Bush saying that and getting away with it!

THE REALITY OF HOW THE WORLD REGARDS AMERICA

            Here’s a good tale that will reassure Americans that we really do love them after all. At a recent World Junior (Ice) Hockey game in Vancouver, the Russians were cheered and the Americans booed, just because they were Americans. After the game, the tens of thousands of ‘fans’ drove away in their Ford and GMC SUVs, gassed up at Chevron, visited Wendy’s drive-in, picked up a video at Blockbuster, watched Jay Leno on TV, slept in their Gap pajamas and started work the next day with a Starbucks coffee. Is there anyone out there who doesn’t see the humour in this?

ITMB TITLES LOW ON STOCK AND BEING UPDATED

China is out of print. A new edition is being prepared for release in late-January.

Colombia is out of print and, although we are updating and preparing; we have no ETA at the moment.

Japan is out of print.  A new edition is at press and due in late January.

Madagascar is out of copies. A new edition is being prepared, for printing in February.

New Zealand (paper) is out of print. We will supply New Zeal and (hard cover) until that version is out of print. We are preparing new artwork for a brand new map of New Zealand, for release next summer.

WHAT ARE WE CLOSE TO COMPLETING?

            Lan always dislikes having me ‘blab’ our production projects, because so much can go wrong at the final stages of preparing cartography for printing that the idea of a SCHEDULE for releasing tiles becomes such a work of fiction that we just don’t bother with one anymore. That said, we are working on 23 projects at the moment, and have plans for 35 brand new titles for 2007, as well as 50 updates. For the rest of this year, we have decided to concentrate on updating selected current artwork that are running low on stock (see above), to ensure minimal delays to our customers for these important titles.

Myanmar/Burma is at press. This means that the line work has been completed and checked, the place names and text are in place and are being verified, and that the English words and legalities have been checked.

Chile is also ready to be checked, once the other two projects noted above are off to printing. To my great regret, we will not be able to print it in 2006, the twentieth anniversary of ITMB publishing its first maps, but I am determined to keep agitating for its completion in January.

China Travel Reference Map is about to go to press, following updating and style changes, with a new cover.

Colombia Travel Reference Map is about to go to press, having had a thorough re-working.

Lesotho is going through its final checking before pre-press.

Madagascar Travel Reference Map is being updated and having its files re-organized.

Mekong Delta and Southern Vietnam Travel Reference Map is at press. Our popular river delta map has been turned into a double-sided map, with the southern third of Vietnam being added to the map.

Riga ITM City Map is in Latvia, being vetted by Jana Seta for any errors, particularly spelling.

Tonga Travel Reference Map is at pre-press stage and should go to the printer this month.

FORTHCOMING TRADE SHOWS

IMTA Salzburg, Austria, February 22-23, 2007, at the Conference Congress – Lan and I will be exhibiting the latest ITMB maps that have been released and welcome the opportunity to meet as many of our friends and colleagues as possible. As President of the Americas Region, I will also be representing the Region, so if anyone wishes to discuss anything related to IMTA prior to this conference, they may do so by contacting me at my business, or button-holing me at the IMTA Planning Session in Phoenix, in mid-January.

London Book Fair, Earl’s Court, London April, 16-18 2007, Stand J920 Lan and I will be exhibiting our latest releases at this important book fair, in a stand in the travel section of the largest English-language publications fair ever held in Europe. This year, for the first time, it will be held in Earl’s Court in central London, on a direct tube line from Heathrow, and with easy connections to all parts of London.

BookExpo USA New York City (Jacob Javitts Centre, central Manhattan) June 1-3, 2007 Stand 4411 – Again, Lan and I will be at stand 4411 throughout this important book fair, and will also be hosting the IMTA collective stand adjacent to our stand. This is the first time IMTA members will have the option of displaying their goods and be represented at this important trade fair as IMTA participants.

NEW TITLES AT PRESS OR NEARLY SO (due for release in January)

Alaska Travel Reference Map 5^th Ed. 2007 1:1,500,000 ISBN 9781553419020 $10.95cdn/8.95us/E – Our map of the largest American state continues to sell rather well. This is a minor update for a popular title, with a new cover picture and a new fold. Printed on paper, double-sided, indexed AVAILABLE

Alps Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2006 1:750,000 ISBN 9781553410591 $13.95cdn/11.95us/E8.95 – This regional map of the fabulous Alpine regions of Germany, Austria, Italy, France, and of course Switzerland has now arrived from Europe. AVAILABLE

Australia Travel Reference Map – is here, but I don’t have time to write about it.

Baltic States Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2006 1:550,000 ISBN 9781553410607 $13.95cdn/11.95us/E8.95 – ditto Alps, only covering the three relatively new countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, with good coverage of the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, the former German territory, now part of Russia. AVAILABLE

Belgium and Luxembourg Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2006 1:250,000 ISBN 9781553411321 $13.95cdn/11.95us/E8.95 – ditto Alps, only of the country we used to have as part of our former Netherlands/Belgium map. We are calling this a first edition, even though it is technically a second, as this is the first time we have published a map of Belgium (also Luxembourg) itself. AVAILABLE

Burundi Travel Reference Map 3rd Ed. 2007 1:300,000 (printed with Rwanda) ISBN 9781553413806 – order as Rwanda/Burundi $13.95cdn/11.95us/E8.95 – We have had a portion of a single-sided map covering Burundi for several years. We have now expanded the artwork to cover an entire sheet with just Burundi, reflecting its increased significance. The map is still called Rwanda/Burundi, and should be ordered as such, but Burundi can be displayed with its own cover, separately from Rwanda. Printed on paper, indexed AVAILABLE.

Dominican Republic and Haiti Travel Reference Map 4^th Ed/1^st Ed. 2007 $13.95CDN/11.95US/E8.95 – This is brand new artwork, with Dominican Republic at 1:400,000 scale on one side and Haiti at 1;350,000 scale on the other. So, this is our long-awaited map of Haiti, which will have its own cover pic, but, to save money and paper, we are ‘twinning’ it with an established title until it takes off as a viable title on its own. AVAILABLE

Ecuador Travel Reference Map 5^th Ed. 2007 1:700,000 ISBN 9781553411949 $13.95cdn/11.95us/E8.95 – This is a significant update to our popular Ecuador map, compete with a new cover picture and a new inset map of Quito, printed on paper, double-sided AVAILABLE.

England and Wales Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2007 1:550,000 ISBN 9781553415824 $13.95cdn/11.95us/E8.95 – This is again a double-sided map, but with southern England/Wales on one side and northern on the other. We have used two covers, though, one for each nation. This will complete our general mapping of this part of Europe, with maps of Great Britain (including Ireland), Ireland itself in great detail, a double-sided map of Scotland that I think is pretty darn good, and now our detailed map of England and Wales. We also have published city maps of Dublin, Edinburgh, and London, and are working on Jersey. AVAILABLE

Haiti (see Dominican Republic) 1:350,000: This map has been dragged kicking and screaming into existence to satisfy the repeated pleas from Katrein of Craenen bvba for a halfway decent map of Haiti. In spite of the fact that there are a few published maps of Haiti, most are lacking detail. We hope everything is accurate, because we have more place names on this map than you can shake a stick at! Order as Dominican Republic/Haiti.

Hanoi and North East Vietnam 2007 1:18,000/1:500,000ISBN 9781553416401 $10.95cdn/8.95us/E7.95 – We are blessed in that Lan has kept close ties with her Vietnamese colleagues, because we now have the first-ever expanded map of Hanoi City AND the very first ever-published map of the area of Vietnam North and East of Hanoi – essentially, the crucially important Chinese border area, and the touristicly important Ha Long Bay area. Double-sided, printed on paper, it is now AVAILABLE

Helsinki ITM City Map 1^st Ed. 2007 1:10,000 ISBN 9781553416418 $10.95cdn/8.95us/E7.95 – The capital city of Finland is our latest European city map to be released, and our 63^rd international city map. Like others in the series, this one shows all the touristicly important parts of the city, including the railway station, harbour ferries, parks, shopping areas, museums, hotels, and the Olympic stadium. AVAILABLE

North Korea Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2007 1:750,000 ISBN 9781553412755 $13.95cdn/11.95us/E8.95 – It isn’t often that ITMB can publish a map of a country that has never been commercially-published before, but that is the case with North Korea. The secretive and paranoid people who have been ruling the northern portion of the peninsula for the past 50-odd years do allow visitors into their country and it would be an experience to remember. North Korea has touristic potential, and this map is a first attempt to meet the demand for a good quality map of an important and interesting country. Inset of Pyongyang is included. AVAILABLE

Piedmont and Liguria Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2007 1:250,000 ISBN 9781553415770 $12.95cdn/10.95us/E8.95 – Italy is a fascinating country, one of my favourite places to visit. It is also densely populated and, although ITMB publishes a map of Italy as a country, and two maps covering North/Central and South Italy, the road network is so dense and the villages so numerous that it is easier to find one’s way with a very detailed map. ITMB has already published a very good map of Tuscany; we now are pleased to release the second detailed sectional map of Italy, covering the northern provinces of Piedmont and Liguria with the same care and attention to detail that has made Tuscany so popular. This map covers from the Swiss border in the north to the Mediterranean, and from the French border east to past Milan; printed on paper, double-sided. AVAILABLE

Rwanda (and Burundi) Travel Reference Map 3^rd Ed.  2007 1:300,000 ISBN 9781553413806 $13.95cdn/11.95us/E8.95 – This is an expanded version of our previous map of Rwanda, and occupies the entire sheet, with an inset map of Kigali. The map also has a new cover design; printed on paper AVAILABLE.

Slovakia Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2006 1:300,000 ISBN 9781553413998 $13.95cdn/11.95us/E8.95 – ditto Alps as far as launch date and arrival date, as an excellent map for the previously eastern portion of Czechoslovakia, now a country in its own right, and a growing touristic attraction. AVAILABLE

South Korea and Seoul Travel Reference Map 2^nd Ed. 2007 1:550,000 ISBN 9781553412786 $13.95cdn/11.95us/E8.95 – Our coverage of the Korean peninsula takes a giant leap forward this month with the release of an updated map of South Korea, with a full-sized map of Seoul on the other side. AVAILABLE

Stockholm ITM City Map 1^st Ed. 2007 1:10,000 ISBN 9781553417064 $10.95cdn/8.95us/E7.95 – Sweden’s capital is also ITMB’s latest city map to be released. As with others in the series, this map covers the touristicly significant portion of the city, showing hotels, museums, shopping areas and parks. AVAILABLE

Switzerland Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2006 1:301,000 ISBN 9781553414216 $13.95cdn/11.95us/E8.95 – This title is the latest European travel destination to be released by ITMB in 2006. Naturally, it is a fabulously detailed and very attractive rendition of one of Europe’s most popular travel destinations. AVAILABLE

Sydney, Australia, ITM City Map 1^st Ed. 2007 1:10,000 ISBN 9781553417101 $10.95cdn/8.95us/E7.95 – We are beginning a new series of urban maps of Asian/Pacific destinations, starting with Sydney. This map focuses on the city proper, from the university in the west to Bondi junction in the East, with inset maps of North Sydney, the ferry routes across the harbour, and a regional road map showing main roads into the city centre. AVAILABLE

Vancouver ITM City Map – just arrived! Details later!