NEWSLETTER NO. 5 OF 2008

IMTA GLOBAL CONFERENCE: UPDATE 3

Wine Tasting, sponsored by G.M.Johnson and ITMB, Is planned for Saturday evening at MIA CASA, a sumptuous residence in east Vancouver. British Columbia is a major wine producing area and early-bird arrivals will be invited to partake of smaples of locally-produced wine in a congenial atmosphere, starting at 7:30.

Grouse Grind is the name of a 3,000 foot climb from sea level to the top of Grouse Mountain. Sponsored by Mussio Ventures, a local IMTA member and shared host of the conference, and led by Russel Mussio, energetic members/delegates/partners are welcome to join Russ and climb your hearts out!

Geocaching, sponsored by USGS and National Geographic Society, is scheduled for Sunday.

Toast and Topics returns to its Monday morning spot of 7:30am, preparing IMTA delegates for the conference by posing questions relevant to the mapping industry over snacks and coffee, sponsored by the Spherical Concepts division of Herff Jones.

Traditional First Nations Drumming As a unique experience, we have encouraged elders of the local squamish nation to bless our conference with a traditional drumming experience.

Alaska Cruise – The travel agent handling bookings has received several reservations I appreciate that many will not have time for a cruise at this time, but it really is one of the great travel opportunities of our time to sail to Alaska, so I hope that as many people can enjoy the experience as possible.

Several hotel reservations have already been made. Book soon; space is limited. With the Olympics coming in a little more than a year, organizers are in Vancouver all the time and room rates are sky-rocketing!

The trade show exhibit area is almost completely filled three months before the conference. Only two spaces remain, at time of writing.

The Sunday evening reception will include some entertainment, courtesy of ITMB. The reception is always popular, probably thanks to sponsored drinks and snacks.

The ESRI and Avenza workshops are filling up fast. We have booked three spots for our staff. This is a REAL bargain for training staff affordably and one of the benefits of being an IMTA member.

This will be a very busy conference, with 19 workshops, seminars, and presentations. Details from IMTA.

The conference banquet, included in the registration fee for exhibitors, is scheduled for Monday evening, September 15th. It is worth being an exhibitor, just for the add-ons. The stand is only a couple of hundred bucks!

TRAVEL TRIVIA

            We included a cruise on our recent trip south, from Long Beach along the western coast of Mexico, with stops at Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta and, yes, it was a very pleasant way to complete some necessary data gathering for future maps. While ocean travel is as old as mankind, cruising is a relatively recent development, but one that is growing in popularity.

1.  The oldest cruise line in continuous existence is P & O, founded in 1838.

2. Ships are measured by tonnage, which has nothing to do with weight, but with volume. A 160,000 ton ship has 10x160, or 16 million cubic feet of space; it does not weigh 160,000 tons. Throw that tidbit into the dinner conversation this evening and see what happens!

3. Ships are always referred to in the feminine – except in France, where they are masculine. Trust the French to be different!

4. The longest ship at the moment is Cunard’s Queen Mary 2, which is just slightly shorter (on end) than the Empire State building in NYC. One gallon of fuel moves it 49 feet in a calm sea. In a week at sea, a 3,000 passenger liner will use 5 tons of meat, 3,000 lobsters, 20,000 cans of beer, and 5,000 bottles of wine.

5. Lan won the talent contest, as usual, and I had my five minutes of fame, being invited to go on stage and be a ventriloquist’s dummy.

NEW ITMB TITLES June, 2008

Belize Travel Reference Map, hard covered version (re-introduced) ISBN 9781553411352 $8.95cdn/us E6.95 4.99GBP –  We have recently received a carton of this excellent, though older, single-sided map of Belize with a hard card cover back from a major retailer who obviously never opened the carton or displayed the maps and probably unearthed the carton during a house-cleaning exercise. The maps are in mint condition but are being offered at far below today’s retail value because the content of the map is quite valid and I hate to throw out perfectly good maps. Normal retail for the current version would be $12.95, so this is a bargain. AVAILABLE.

Bhutan Travel Reference Map 3rd Edition 2008 1:380,000 ISBN 9781553411390 UPC 815534113900 $12.95cnd/us E8.95 6.99GBP –  Bhutan is a beautiful mountainous country, squeezed between India and China. It is not a part of the world experiencing significant change, and this version is pretty much the same as our previous one, although updated with minor changes.I recommend selling out of your existing inventory before re-ordering. Printed on paper, single-sided, with the same cover photo, ISBN change; AVAILABLE.

Cairo and Nile Delta Travel Reference Map 2^nd Edition 2008 1:12,500/1:700,000 ISBN 9781553416258 UPC 815534162526 $12.95cdn/us E8.95 6.99GBP –  This is a significant re-working of our Cairo map, showing a lot of infrastructure improvements and adding rapid transit lines. The real change, however, is the inclusion on the second side of a fully-detailed map of the Nile River from its wide delta to Cairo, where it narrows into the historic narrow band of green. Our coverage goes as far southward as beautiful Luxor. All known historic sites of ancient Egypt are included. The map area also includes the Suez Canal, the Gulf of Suez, and the western part of the Sinai. Printed on paper, double-sided; AVAILABLE.

Italy North EastTravel Reference Map 1^st Edition 2008 1:250,000 ISBN 9781553410720 UPC 815534107268 $12.95cdn/us E8.95 6.99GBP –  ITMB is pleased to release its latest regional map of Italy, covering the states of Veneto, Friuli, and Dolmiti. This is an extremely detailed map of the area between Verano and Trieste, the Austrian border and Padua and Venice. The road information is superb. This map joins Piedmont/Liguria and Lombardy in covering the northernmost ‘cap’ of Italy at the same scale, and joins with our maps of Tuscany and Umbria/Marche to cover the most interesting touristic areas of Italy in detail. Also this month, we are releasing our detailed map of Sicily, at the same scale. Printed on paper, single-sided, with an extremely detailed place names index filling the other side; AVAILABLE.

Mexico North Travel Reference Map 3^rd Edition 2008 1:300,000 ISBN 9781553415985 UPC 815534159854 $12.95cdn/us E8.95 6.99GBP – This map has been updated to show the latest improvements to the road network, and to add distance information between towns. It covers from the American border south to the tip of Baja on one side and to Culiacan/Torreon/Monterrey on the other side. Printed on paper, double-sided; AVAILABLE.

Namibia Travel Reference Map 5th Edition 2008 1:1,600,000 ISBN 9781553413387 UPC 815534133878 $12.95cdn/us E8.95 6.99GBP – The former German colony and mandated territory of South-west Africa has emerged as a major touristic destination. Following our recent research trip to the country, we have made numerous changes to the map – upgrading roads that have been paved, changing our Caprivi Strip information, and re-doing our inset map of Windhoek. There is a reason why this map has gone through four editions to date (23,000 copies) – it’s good! Printed on paper, single-sided; AVAILABLE.

Peru South and Lima (re-introduced) Travel Reference Map 1^st Edition ISBN 9781553413653 $10.95cdn/us E7.95 5.99GBP – This was a very popular map, covering the south half of Peru, including the Cuzco area, with a nice map of Lima on the other side. By fortunate circumstance, a couple of hundred copies have been returned to us in excellent condition, so we are offering this title at a bargain price while quantities last. AVAILABLE.

Sicily Travel Reference Map 1^st Edition 2008 1:250,000 ISBN 9781553410713 UPC 815534107183 $12.95cdn/us E8.95 6.99GBP – The island of Sicily has been a focal point of western civilization since the times of the Phoenicians.  This map covers the island state of Italy in excellent detail, and includes the Egadi and Lipari Islands, and insets of Lampedusa and Pantelleria Isles (which should get some of you running for your atlases!). Sicily is still a nation of villages, mostly mountain-top for protection against sea-borne mauraders in former times. It is an excellent holiday venue, and home of the famous volcano, Etna. Printed on paper, with the index on the second side; AVAILABLE.

South America Travel Atlas 1^st Ed. 2008 1:3,000,000 ISBN 9781553410980 UPC 815534109804 $19.95cdn/us, E14.95 10.99GBP – This is unique! ALL of the continent of South America is now available in an easy-to-read, easy-to-use, easy-to-store road atlas at a superb scale. In addition to showing each country systematically, logically, and in great detail, physical features, points of interest, beaches, reefs, parks and reserves, major airports, and roads are shown. The atlas is 5 1/2” wide by 8 1/2” high (15cmx22cm), the same size as our Mexico Road Atlas. This atlas is 112 pages in length, is fully indexed, and has a hard card cover, and a spine. The advantage of this book format is that visitors to more than one country can save money and gain ease of use through a conveniently-sized and attractively presented book format. There is nothing equivalent to this in the world! AVAILABLE

ITMB MAPS DUE IN JULY OR AUGUST

Bolivia Travel Reference Map 3^rd Ed.

Bowron Lakes Canoe Route (BC) Map 1^st Ed.

Brisbane and Queensland Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. (at press)

Bulgaria Travel Reference Map 2^nd Ed.

Canadian Rockies Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. (at press)

Cariboo/Chilcotin Region (BC) 1^st Ed.

Cracow/Krakow ITM City Map 1^st Ed.

Cuba Travel Reference Map 5^th Ed. (at press)

I (a secret)

Jordan (one side) and Syria (other side) (at press)

Nepal Travel Reference Map

Northwest Territories Travel Reference Map 2^nd Edition (at press)

Nunavut Travel Reference Map 1^st Edition

Okanagan/Shuswap Region (BC) 3^rd Edition

Revelstoke National Park Map (BC) 1^st Ed.

South Africa Travel Reference Map

Sri Lanka/South India Travel Reference Map 2^nd Ed. (at press)

Strathcona Plateau Provincial Park Region (BC) 1^st Ed.

Syria and Jordan (at press)

Tweedsmuir Provincial Park Region (BC) 1^st Ed.

Zambia Travel Reference Map

ITMB NEW TITLES RELEASED RECENTLY: April and May, 2008

Andes Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2008 1:4,000,000 ISBN 9781553410669 UPC 815534106612 $12.95cdn/us, E8.95 6.99GBP AVAILABLE.

Brasil Travel Reference Map 4^th Ed. 2008, hard covered edition 1:2,220,000/1:4,500,000 ISBN 9781553411468 UPC 815534114686 $12.95cdn/us E8.95 6.99GBP AVAILABLE.

China East Half Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2008 1:3,000,000 ISBN 9781553410737 UPC 815534107374 $12.95cdn/us, E8.95 6.99GBP AVAILABLE.

92H2/H3 Manning Park/Skagit Region (BC) 1st Ed. 2008 1:50,000 ISBN 9781553418870 UPC 815534188755 $14.95cdn/us E8.95 6.99GBP waterproof AVAILABLE.

Southern Africa Travel Reference Map 3^rd Ed. 2008 1:2,125,000 ISBN 9781553410287 UPC 815534102874 $12.95cdn/us, E8.95 6.99GBP AVAILABLE.

TITLES RELEASED FROM FEBRUARY TO APRIL

Auckland and North Island, NZ, Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2008 1:12,000/1:950,000 ISBN 9781553417217 $12.95 cdn/us, E8.95/6.99GBP AVAILABLE.

France Travel Reference Map 2^nd Ed. 2008 1:1,000,000 ISBN 9781553412144 $12.95cdn/us, E8.95 6.99GBP

Hue and Central Vietnam Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2008 1:330,000 ISBN 9781553415978 $12.95cdn/us, E8.95 6.99GBP

India South and Northeast Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2008 1:2,300,000 ISBN 9781553410690 $12.95cdn/us, E8.95 6.99GBP

Iran Travel Reference Map 4^th Ed. 2008 1:1,800,000 ISBN 9781553412502 $12.95cdn/us, E8.95, 6.99GBP

Kolkata/Calcutta & Northeast India Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2008 1:10,000/1:2,300,000 ISBN 9781553416111 $12.95cdn/us, E8.95 6.99GBP

Iraq Travel Reference Map 3rd Ed. 2008 1:1,200,000 ISBN 9781553412540 $12.95cdn/us, E8.95/6.99GBP

Patagonia/Tierra del Fuego Travel Reference Map 2^nd Ed. 2008 1:2,000,000/1:750,000 ISBN 9781553410683 - $12.95cdn/us, E8.95 6.99GBP

Somalia/Djibouti Travel Reference Map 2^nd Ed. 2008 1:1,170,000 ISBN 9781553414056 $12.95cdn/us, E8.95, 6.99GBP

South America Travel Reference Map 5^th Ed. 2008 1:4,000,000 ISBN 9781553410089 $13.95cdn/us, E9.95, 7.50GBP

South America Wall Map 1^st Ed. 2008 1:5,000,000 – paper = ISBN 9781553410096 $29.95cdn/us

South America Wall Map 1^st Ed. 2008 1:5,000,000 – laminated = ISBN 9781553410119 $39.95cdn/us

South America Wall Map 1^st Ed. 2008 1:5,000,000 – with hangers = ISBN 9781553410133 $49.95cdn/us

Vienna ITM City Map 1^st Ed. 2008 1:10,500 ISBN 9781553417170 $10.95cdn/us E7.95/5.99GBP.

Taiwan and Taipei Travel Reference Map 2^nd Ed. 2008 ISBN 9781553417224 $12.95cdn/us, E8.95 6.99GBP

83DWells Gray Region/83D4Myrtle Lake 1^st Ed. 2008 1:250,000/1:50,000 ISBN 9781553418856 $14.95cdn/us, E9.95/7.99GBP

Whistler/sea to Sky Highway Travel Reference Map 1^st Ed. 2008 1:50,000/1:250,000 ISBN 9781553418924 $8.95cdn/us E7.95 5.99GBP.

ITMB TITLES: BETWEEN EDITIONS AND WORK IN PROGRESS

Bolivia is out of stock and being updated. No ETA is available at the moment.

Bulgaria is out of copies and being updated.

South Africa is out of copies and being updated.

Zambia is out of copies and being updated.

FORTHCOMING ITMB EVENTS

IMTA World Mapping Conference “Mapping the Future” – Vancouver, Canada at the famous Hotel Vancouver in downtown Vancouver September 14-16, 2008, with Alaska cruises and RV rentals a possibility. This convention promises to be one of the most important, largest, and most exciting gatherings of the mapping industry in years! It’s SO big, even Nicolson Maps of Scotland plan on attending, and they NEVER spend a dime! Even Guenther Nelles might break down and attend, if he can persuade his boss (wife) to come along. You should come too. Nine exhibitors have signed up already, which is extraordinary. I’ll have lots more info in future newsletters.