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NEWSLETTER NO. 8 OF 2009

AXIS OF EVIL MAPPING NEWSLETTER # 8 October, 2009

NEW TITLES FOR THIS MONTH!

Beijing and the Great Wall of China, China ITM Travel Atlas, Delhi & Northwestern India (Kashmir).

The Axis of Evil Mapping Newsletter is released irregularly. If you are not interested in receiving this newsletter, please email jack@itmb.com. Any opinions expressed are strictly those of myself and are not intended to provoke anything more than the intellect.

INTRODUCTION

The big Frankfurt Book Fair has come and gone for another year, and it was a busy five days for us. We received a lot of valuable input from our contacts there, and hope that our marketing efforts are appreciated. Over the winter months, we will be completing updates of several maps, and researching parts of the world for future endeavours. We got a lot of useful information about both Senegal and Gambia on our trip there this month, and this will greatly enhance our future editions.

SENEGAL AND GAMBIA

Lan and I spent six days driving around the two West African countries of Senegal and Gambia in October, updating our information for future editions of these two popular travel destinations. Dakar is a bustling city, with new buildings going up everywhere. That said, the sidewalks are so hazardous to walk along, due to missing manhole covers and piles of construction debris, and vendors encroaching, that one tends to walk in the middle of pot-holed streets to get anywhere. Up-country, the roads are generally in a deplorable condition, but the main highway towards the east (to Tambacounda) is in the process of being re-built and even the diversions are better than the deeply potholed highway. Gambia is also in the process of re-building its south side highway, thanks to the Dutch, and these projects are essential if either country is to prosper. Gambia’s infrastructure close to the ocean is quite good, but services inland tend to be poorly developed. I would like to be fair in saying that a considerable amount of somebody’s money is going into infrastructural developments in both countries, but inland travel is still difficult and not for the faint at heart. Coastal tourism is flourishing, and we gained enormously important reference material during our stay that will significantly strengthen both maps in future editions.

FRANKFURT MEETINGS AND MY IMPRESSIONS

The FBF is always an interesting show. For those of you who haven’t been there, each October, thousands of publishers, distributors, retailers, and support industries gather together for five days of intense discussions. The travel industry is centred on Building 3, Level 1, Rows H, K, and L. We had 35 meetings at our stand and thank each of the firms who came for taking the time to stop by and check out our new releases (50 at this show) and ponder future developments. It was a revelation to me to realize that most map publishers, despite sales protests to the contrary, are suffering from seriously declining sales and depleted revenue. This affects everything from product pricing to new title development. Here are the highlights of my impressions:

The travel section was smaller this year, as it was smaller the year before than in previous years. In fact, the entire FBF suffered. There were fewer exhibitors, and several exhibitors commented that they had fewer meetings than in previous years.
A couple of big players were absent; notably, Ordnance Survey (UK) and IGN (France). The largest map publisher in Europe, Mairs Dumont, announced that they would be phasing out paper map production in order to concentrate on digital information. Mairs publishes the Shell line of maps for service stations, as well as the Aral line for that company’s service stations, the Marco Polo line, Falk, ADAC, Compass recreational maps, Hallwag, and Kummerley & Frey. It appears that the ADAC maps of German town plans is being downsized, with some of the titles being kept on as Falk branded titles.
Nelles announced that their map line will increase by one Euro and one US$ per copy as of January 1, 2010. This will mean a $11.95us retail price, and I can’t yet say what effect this will have on Canada.
Freytag & Berndt announced a series of revisions of existing titles for 2010, but no new product, with higher Euro prices (E9.95 for country maps). This will have its natural effect on pricing in North America, as the Euro is worth more than either the Canadian or American dollars, but I don’t know yet how prices will be affected. FB has also dropped a few titles from their publishing list, including Albania, East Africa, and Seychelles, for which there are no other publishers internationally. Reise Know-How has these titles, in German, in Germany, but that’s it.
Gizimaps has released a new title: The Red Sea, and plans several updates of a variety of titles in 2010.
Omni Resources, of North Carolina, exhibited at FBF for the first time. Omni is a large US supplier of travel maps to retailers, and has seen its sales expand significantly through 2009, in large part because the disarray in which other US distributors find themselves has driven retailers to seek out a reliable supplier. Omni appears to be well-run, well-stocked, and well-enough funded to weather the economic storm that has swept America. By the way, my reading is that Europe is much more affected by economic turmoil than North America, and is still on the decline stage. Recovery is noticeable in the USA and well-advanced in Canada, but I don’t see any sign of an end to turmoil in Europe until next summer.
Hema North America has launched a new road atlas covering the USA section by section instead of state by state. I’m not sure how wise a move this investment is, coming at a time of plummeting sales for large-size road atlases, but it IS new and looks good. We’ll have copies in a few weeks - $24.95us/$26.95cdn.
GeoProjects, the UK-based publisher of Middle Eastern maps closed its doors suddenly (like, in the middle of the night) at the end of September, so expect a few law suits by surprised staff. They published the only maps of Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Bahrain, and Sharijah, as well as titles still obtainable from other firms, so a gap has unexpectedly appeared in world mapping services. Nick Pryor, wherever you are, raise a glass or three! Apparently, the firm has been purchased/acquired by a British publishing house whose name escapes me at the moment, and the line will continue for now.
Beetle Maps, of South Korea, has published a new map guide for Hong Kong. I’ve been watching their product line develop for several years now, and feel that they are growing in sophistication. The owner hopes to exhibit at IMTA Americas in Washington next September.
Map Link announced that it is hoping to emerge from bankruptcy protection by the end of 2009. Considering that ML has yet to approach its creditors with its plans to repay them the $2,400,000 that it owes them, my own opinion is that Bill’s statement is a tad premature.
There was very little new product shown from any of the European mapping firms. Generally, the mood was one of retrenchment in the face of declining sales rather than plans for the future. However, he says modestly, ITMB polled visitors as to what new products they would like us to supply between now and the next Frankfurt Book Fair and came up with ten good titles. We will develop as many new titles as we can! Certainly, more than the ten titles respondents selected.

WHO SAYS IT IS EXPENSIVE TO TRAVEL?

The world of maps is changing. The reason people want maps is changing and we have to change to stay in business. People still want to travel, and the industry is changing quickly to meet or create market demand. These are advertised opportunities in today’s Vancouver newspaper: 14days/13 nights cruise from Dubai to Mumbai to Singapore and back for $62cdn/E42 per day (rooms, meals, entertainment, and six ports of call). How about an eleven-day Mediterranean cruise for the same price, with seven ports of call? Cruises not your thing? How about return airfare to London from Vancouver for $149 plus taxes, or $399 for three nights in Whistler, or a week in Puerto Vallarta flight included, for just over $100 per day? I could not find bargains like that in travel agencies in Europe, but these are lower prices than I’ve seen in years!

Royal Caribbean has just accepted possession of the largest cruise liner ever built: 6,200 passengers on 15 decks. It will sail out of Florida once outfitting is complete. Congratulations!

RETURNS TO ITMB

It always surprises me to see customers trying to return copies of maps replaced up to a decade previously by new editions. In 2008, one firm actually tried to get credit for returning a map that we had issued in 1989, nineteen years previously. Most map publishers will not provide a return for credit policy at all: ITMB is fairly unusual in giving customers up to one year from date of notification of a new edition being released to return older editions to us, and I feel that this is too long a time period.

Any book publisher that my firm deals with, for example, Lonely Planet, gives three months grace period to accept back returns for credit. This appears to be a fairly consistent practice among the travel book publishers. In my experience, the map industry does not follow any recognizable practice, ranging from no returns whatsoever under any circumstances (most European publishers) to guaranteed returns regardless (Rand, for example). This results in customer confusion and in a lack of responsibility by retailers for what they have purchased.

I prefer the IGN policy of a cut-off date of three months after a new edition or version is released. Having weathered the Map Link debacle of tens of thousands of returns from Barnes & Noble, and having seen the effect that a large return operation can have on a distributor and on a publishing supplier, I flat-out refuse to duplicate such nonsense in my business. Retailers and distributors alike have a responsibility to stock only current editions of ITMB maps and to weed out obsolete inventory expeditiously. If either party fails to do so in a reasonable time period, we all suffer.

My own feeling is that giving customers a year to report the existence of a title that has been replaced is too long a time period. It encourages lassitude, the belief that there is no hurry to get replaced editions out of their warehouses or off their shelves. Once a new edition has been released, I don’t want anyone to be stocking or displaying previous editions, but I also don’t want to accept responsibility for crediting someone ten years after the fact. What is reasonable? I would like input from both retailers and distributors on this. Based upon discussions at Frankfurt with companies I meet, I expect to be in a good position to set returns policies for next year.

A LITTLE HUMOUR TO LIGHTEN THE MOOD

This one comes into the ‘dumb crooks’ category. Vancouver is having a turf war between various gangs for control over the drug trade, which is a problem for residents, in that a few innocent bystanders have been killed. Not many, but one is too many. Anyway, last Friday, a fisherman saw a black plastic suitcase floating down the Fraser River towards the ocean. He hooked it, opened the case, and discovered a fully loaded Mac-11, a 1200-shot-per-minute machine pistol, complete with silencer and ammunition. The Mac-11 is a highly illegal gun, whose only purpose is to kill anything it is aimed towards. The fisherman turned the gun over to the police, who recognized it as the gun used in several shootings. Now, just think for a minute: if you were a ‘bad’ guy wanting to get rid of a weapon by throwing it into a river, wouldn’t you want to use a container that wouldn’t float? Or, no container at all? The police comment was: “We may not be dealing with the sharpest tool”. Maybe he forgot to wipe off his fingerprints as well. We can only hope!

ITMB Titles Out of Stock at the moment:

Botswana, Georgia, Germany, Lima, Mexico Baja California, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay(at press), Sao Paulo, South America South (hc only), Uruguay/Montevideo(at press), and US Virgin Islands. Several other titles are low on inventory, such as Alberta/BC and Bahamas.

NEW ITMB ARTWORK CLOSE TO COMPLETION or AT PRESS

At the moment, we have six titles at press. The China Road Atlas is expected next month, and new maps covering Manila and Delhi/Northwest India are at press and expected early in November, as are updated editions of Paraguay and Uruguay/Montevideo. A new map, Sumatra, is also at press.

Botswana is still being updated and re-worked into becoming a double-side title, with another country on the reverse side. Europe Railway Map has almost run out of copies. Georgia has just run out of copies and is awaiting free time for updating. Germany is being developed as a completely new title, but is almost ready for printing. Jakarta is still undergoing editorial checking, but looks like it too will be going to press soon. Mexico Baja California is also being updated, and should go to press next month. Lima has just run out of copies, and we have decided to delay its re-introduction until we develop a new map of central Peru. Papua New Guinea has just run out of copies. A new edition will come out in the spring of 2010. Sao Paulo has also completed its print run, so is being updated and re-developed as a double-sided map beside a new map of southern Brasil. US Virgin Islands has run out of copies, but no decision has yet been made as to what to do about this title or, for that matter, our entire Caribbean series.

NEW TITLES October, 2009

Beijing and the Great Wall of China 3^rd Ed. 2010 1:23,000/1:280,000 waterproof ISBN 9781553416012 UPC 815534160157 $8.95cdn/us, E6.95 6.99GBP – Beijing is on the must-see list for any visitor to China. This updated edition includes new information post-2008 Olympics, such as the new subway line (No. 4) that has just been opened, plus new information about further extensions and lines being developed. The other side of the map is just as interesting. It covers the portion of the Great Wall of China that all visitors see, near Badaling, and also shows those sections that have disappeared over time, or have fallen into disrepair. As well, the famous Ming tombs of former emperors is also shown, as well as the Marco Polo bridge on the western edge of Beijing, so-named in honour of the famous trader/explorer who set out from this point on his return trip to Europe. This time, we have printed our Beijing/great Wall map in durable ITM plastic; printed double-sided. AVAILABLE.

Chile & Argentina ITM Travel Atlas (including Easter Island) is at press and expected late November.

China ITM Travel Atlas 1^st Ed. 2010 124 pages, scale 1:2,500,000 ISBN 9781553410751 UPC 815534107503 $19.95cdn/us, E14.95 14.99GBP – China is growing in importance touristically as well as economically. The size of the country makes it difficult to portray this vast geographic entity favourably on a sheet of paper, even double-sided. The answer until now has been to divide China into segments. Now, for the first time, China is available in an enhanced scale in a book format that is compact in size, light-weight, and detailed enough for backpackers, businessmen, and those on a tour. China itself is portrayed on 76 pages of detailed maps. Two pages of Lhasa maps follow, then 11 pages devoted to Beijing, 7 to Shanghai, 8 to Hong Kong, and 8 more to Guangzhou(Canton). This is a milestone publication, the first-ever book map of China by a non-local firm, in English/Romanized print – easy to understand, easy to use – and it is AVAILABLE NOW!!!

Delhi/Northwestern India Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2010 1:45,000/1:1,900,000 ISBN 9781553416197 UPC 815534161987 $10.95cdn/us E6.95 6.99GBP – Our ITM series of maps related to the Indian Sub-continent continues to expand with this double-sided map. Delhi/New Delhi is, of course, the capital and governmental centre for this large and populous country. It is also an impossibly spread out city to map, but we have done our best to present this enormous urban area attractively. Now, here’s the surprise in this map – the reverse side covers that part of India bounded by Lucknow and Varanasi (formerly Benares) in the east, to Jaipur in the west, and the disputed territory of Kashmir in the north. It’s a lovely map, and completes our sectional coverage of India. Printed on paper, AVAILABLE.

Manila ITM City Map 1^st Ed. 2010 is at press and expected early in November.

Paraguay Travel Reference Map 2^nd Ed. 2010 is at press and expected by mid-November.

Sumatra Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2010 is at press and expected in mid-November.

TITLES THAT ARRIVED IN JULY to SEPTEMBER, 2009

Afghanistan Travel Reference Map 3^rd Ed. 2010 1:1,000,000 ISBN 9781553411031

Angola Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2010 1:1,300,000 ISBN 9781553411109

Armenia (and Azerbaijan) Travel Reference Map 4^th Ed. 2010 1:560,000 ISBN 9781553411178

Azerbaijan (and Armenia) Travel Reference Map 4^th Ed. 2010 1:560,000 ISBN 9781553411178

Bali (and Lombok) Travel Reference Map 2^nd Ed. 2010 1:145,000/1:130,000 ISBN 9781553415459

Costa Rica Travel Reference Map 7^th Ed. 2009 1:315T ISBN 9781553411826 waterproof

Cuzco and Peru South Travel Reference Map 3^rd Ed. 2009 1:10,000 ISBN 9781553415473

Everest Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2009 1:100T ISBN 9781553415527

French Guiana Travel Reference Map 2^nd Ed. 2010 1:500,000 ISBN 9781553413622

Greenland and North Pole Travel Reference Map 2^nd Ed. 1:3,000,000 ISBN 9781553418412

Himalaya Region Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2009 1:1,300,000 ISBN 9781553415480

Java Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2010 1:600,000 ISBN 9781553415466

Jerusalem/Northern Israel Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2010 1:10,000/1:225,000 ISBN 9781553416531

Lombok (and Bali) Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2010 1:130,000 ISBN 9781553415459

Malawi (& Mozambique) Travel Reference Map 5^th Ed. 2010 1:900,000 ISBN 9781553413080

Manhattan/East Coast USA Travel Reference Map 2^nd Ed. 2010 1:12,500/1:2.3M ISBN 9781553416838

Manitoba Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2009 1:900,000 ISBN 9781553418207

Newfoundland & Labrador Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2009 1:750T/1:1,385T ISBN 9781553418399

North Pole Region and Greenland Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2010 1:9,000,000 ISBN 9781553418412

Ontario Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2009 1:1M(S)/1:1.5M(N) ISBN 9781553418191

Peru Travel Reference Map 4^th Ed. 2009 1:1,500,000 waterproof ISBN 9781553413646

Quito and Northern Ecuador Travel Reference Map 2^nd Ed. 2009 1:12T/1:650T ISBN 9781553416586

Saskatchewan Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2009 1:900,000 ISBN 9781553418184

Seoul (and South Korea) Travel Reference Map 3^rd Ed. 2010 1:15,000 ISBN 9781553412762

South Korea and Seoul Travel Reference Map 3^rd Ed 2010 1:550,000/1:15,000 ISBN 9781553412762

Spain and Portugal Travel Reference Map 2^nd Ed. 2010 1:900,000 ISBN 9781553413721

Surinam (& French Guiana) Travel Reference Map 4^th Ed. 1:720,000 ISBN 9781553413622

USA East Half Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2010 1:2,300,000 ISBN 9781553419006

USA West Half Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2010 1:2,300,000 ISBN 9781553419037