- www.new7wonders.com More Popular Than Top Brand and Global Organization Sites

ZURICH, Switzerland - The New7Wonders website is now amongst the top one percent of the world's most popular websites. The site is at the heart of the first-ever global election, to choose the New 7 Wonders of the World. More than 45 million votes have already been cast in this unprecedented campaign. The Official Declaration of the New 7 Wonders, in Lisbon on July 7, 2007 - 07.07.07, will be broadcast globally.

Bernard Weber, Founder and President of New7Wonders, notes: "New7Wonders has one of the fastest-growing online communities. People from every country in the world have voted and continue to post photos and videos, submit slogans and spread the word. New7Wonders is a passionate movement that is making waves worldwide. Future generations will ask 'Where were you when the New 7 Wonders of the World were chosen?'."

More popular than leading international organizations and top brands

The leading Internet website ranking service, Alexa Internet Inc., a subsidiary of Amazon.com shows the New7Wonders website as more popular than those of many of the world's most respected, popular institutions and brands, including:

- un.org - the United Nations website;

- fifa.com - the Federation Internationale de Football Association's website;

- olympics.org - the website of the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement;

- coke.com - the Coca-Cola website;

- adidas.com - the Adidas website;

- levis.com - the Levi's website;

- bmw.com - the BMW website. >>

After 07.07.07, the New7Wonders Foundation is planning other innovative, diversified projects to build on the success of the New7Wonders campaign.

07.07.07

Official Declaration of the New 7 Wonders of the World in Lisbon, Portugal ...be part of the making of history! www.new7wonders.com

Waterloo Region’s cross country mountain bike race series; the Amped XC, is back at Chicopee for the third season beginning Thursday May 24th at 6:15 pm. Chicopee’s Amped XC Mountain Bike Race Series will run 7 events this summer every other Thursday. The area’s elite and casual mountain bikers are invited to compete and challenge themselves in these events.

For the serious competitors, weekend warriors and fun seekers alike, the Amped XC provides a quality addition to the southwestern Ontario racing calendar and is an ideal weekday tune-up race for other events. It also allows participants the chance to compete in a local event, make new friends and win some prizes.

Competitors race in a 7 km cross country loop designed to challenge riders and experience some of the fun and varied terrain traditionally explored by skiers and snowboarders at Chicopee. Athletes must choose to run in either the Advanced 21 km event, Intermediate 14 km or Short Course 7 km event all beginning at 6:30 pm. Series & single event competitors will be awarded age/gender category series points. Prizes will be awarded in a mix of random draws, event results and series results.

Chicopee has also created a team entry option for those interested in riding with friends or co-workers or an employer wanting to sponsor a team of four employees in some healthy competition. The Series grand prize for corporate teams will be a full day team building session on the Chicopee Adventure Challenge Course which includes low ropes, high ropes, climbing wall and vertical playground for twelve participants, over a $900 value.

Registration for the event is available online or in person at Chicopee. The event will include entertainment and a nightly post-race buffet is available. Series entrants will receive a complimentary technical shirt. Participants may sign up at www.skichicopee.com.

The Amped XC Mountain Bike Race Series events are scheduled for:

Thursday May 24
Thursday June 7
Thursday June 21
Thursday July 5
Thursday July 19
Thursday August 2
Thursday August 16

Individual registration is $15 per event or participants may sign up for the Series for $90. Registration for a team of 4 participants for the Series $750 (includes food, technical shirts etc.) or $450/team (excludes food).

For those interested Chicopee also runs a monthly Pumped XC Trail Running Race Series throughout the summer as well on the last Thursday evenings of each month beginning Thursday May 31st.

Rosie spent nine days in the hospital (five in the intensive care unit) and had to undergo acute rehabilitation before being released.

During that week and a half, The Co-operators’ assistance team spoke daily to the doctors and nurses for medical updates. They kept Rosie’s family informed about her progress and worked with the hospital’s finance office to arrange direct billing to
The Co-operators.

“Our case managers assist the family during hospitalizations, help customers with discharge requirements, and make arrangements for guarantee of payments and direct billing,” said Kelly Price, emergency assistance supervisor at TIC’s travel assistance department.

The total cost of Rosie’s hospitalization was $37,000. Fortunately, she and her family didn’t have to pay any of these costs, even though visitors to Canada don’t receive coverage from provincial health plans.

Travel by Canadian residents abroad increased 5.0% in March to an estimated 3.9 million trips. The number of trips from the United States and other countries, however, edged up 2.3% to 2.5 million. (Unless otherwise specified, monthly data are seasonally adjusted.)

Canadian residents took nearly 604,000 trips to overseas destinations in March. This was a 1.6% increase compared to February, and matched the record high set in January of this year.

Canadians also made more than 3.3 million trips to the United States in March, an increase of 5.6% compared to the previous month, but still 3.8% lower than in December 2006.

While same-day car trips by Canadian residents rose 5.5% from February to March, overnight car travel jumped 7.9% to 814,000 trips. Overnight air travel by Canadian residents also increased 1.4% to 471,000 trips.

United States residents took over 2.1 million trips to Canada in March, up 2.2% compared to February but still 11.3% lower than December 2006.

Overnight travel to Canada from the United States rose 0.5% from February to nearly 1.1 million trips. While there was a 1.4% decline in the number of overnight trips by air to Canada by American residents, this was offset by a 1.3% increase in overnight car travel in March.

Americans took an estimated 939,000 same-day car trips to Canada in March, up 3.1% from February. Despite the increase, this was the third consecutive month that the one-million trip mark was not reached.

March was also the eighth consecutive month that there were more overnight trips than same-day car trips by American residents to Canada, a reversal of the trend observed since record-keeping began in 1972.

Overseas visitors took 405,000 trips to Canada in March, up 2.9% compared to February and the highest figure in two and a half years.

Travel from 9 of Canada's top 12 overseas markets was up in March from February. Among these markets, the largest increase was in the number of trips from Mexico (+11.9%) which reached record levels. The largest decline was in the number of trips from the Netherlands (-5.4%).

The Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation (OTMPC) is the

premier tourism marketer for the province of Ontario. Its mandate is to

promote Ontario as a four-season tourism destination to citizens at home and

markets around the world. Established as a unique public-private partnership

by the Ontario government, OTMPC undertakes innovative marketing initiatives

in partnership with the tourism industry to attract visitors with dynamic and

diverse travel ideas.

Commissioned by Turismo de Lisboa, the main purpose of this TSA project is to fully understand the value of Travel & Tourism to the economy and job creation of the Lisbon region.

Using the most sophisticated combination of macro-economic research and forecasts, regional accounting data, information and support by local entities as INE, Turismo de Portugal and Banco de Portugal, as well as Travel & Tourism variables and econometric modeling, WTTC and research partner Oxford Economics, produced a comprehensive Tourism Satellite Account for the Lisbon region. This project covered all concepts of Travel & Tourism 'Demand', from personal consumption to business purchases, exports, capital investment and government spending. This project also quantified the contribution of Travel & Tourism to gross domestic product (GDP) and employment, producing results that can be compared with other industries and the economy as a whole to provide credible statistical information that will assist in policy- and business decision-making.

Speaking at the press conference held in Lisbon on 9 May 2007, Fontão de Carvalho, President of Turismo de Lisboa said, ‘The Lisbon region is one of the world’s first capital city economies to develop Simulated Tourism Satellite Accounting. With a full understanding of the value of Travel & Tourism to the economy and job creation of the Lisbon region, our decision-makers can form sound policy decisions, and can quantify the continued performance of Travel & Tourism on an ongoing basis. Furthermore local, national and international investors can gain valuable insights to the opportunities prevalent across this region’.

Results of this project show that, Travel & Tourism’s direct and indirect impact on the Lisbon region will contribute 9.1 per cent to Gross Domestic Product in 2007, growing at a rate of 4.6 per cent, per annum over the coming decade, to reach 11.3 per cent by 2017. In comparison, annual growth of Travel & Tourism’s contribution to GDP in Portugal will be 3.2 per cent and across the European Union it will be 2.8 per cent.

In employment terms, Travel & Tourism is forecast to account for 9.8 per cent of total employment (139,000 jobs) this year, growing to 13.3 per cent (189,900 jobs) by 2017 across the Lisbon region. The Lisbon region’s annual growth rate in employment of 3.2 per cent is much higher than that of Portugal (1 per cent, per annum) and the European Union (1.3 per cent, per annum).

Tourism Toronto to leverage strong summer event line-up in marketing the region to travellers

TORONTO - Tourism across the Toronto region was bolstered in 2006 by record visitor numbers from overseas countries and from within Canada, Tourism Toronto reported May 3. Growth in these markets helped to offset continued challenges in the U.S. tourism market.

"In 2006 it was a mixed picture for Toronto's tourism sector," said Lyle Hall, Chair of Tourism Toronto's Board of Directors. "While American visitors remain a difficult market, the real success story is the overseas markets like China, Korea and Mexico that now account for a quarter of all tourism spending in Toronto."

Overall, approximately 19.7 million visitors spent $4.5 billion in the Toronto region last year: <<

- 15.4 million Canadians spent approximately $2.2 billion, accounting for 78 per cent of visitors and 50 per cent of visitor spending

- 2.7 million Americans spent $1.2 billion, accounting for 14 per cent of visitors and 26 per cent of spending

- 1.6 million overseas visitors (all foreign countries except U.S.) spent $1.1 billion, accounting for 8 per cent of visitors and 24 per cent of spending >>

Tourism Toronto's new President and CEO, David Whitaker, who joined the organization this week, said, "The challenges facing Toronto, like many Canadian destinations, are well known. Heightened competition for travel customers, along with new passport rules and the rising Canadian dollar, force us to identify new markets and be as creative as possible in our sales and marketing."

"At the same time, we have some tremendous opportunities starting with a very strong line-up of summer events and festivals," said Whitaker. Speaking to hundreds of members of the region's tourism industry at Tourism Toronto's annual meeting, Mr. Whitaker highlighted the importance of leveraging all of the new tourism experiences to cultivate a "sense of place" about Toronto in visitors' minds.

"We'll keep working to make sure the entire region is seen as a prestige travel destination for business and pleasure. By doing that, we help ensure that tourism remains a vital industry contributing economically and socially to our community."

"It is a privilege to market the Toronto region. I am excited to be working with the fine team of sales and marketing professionals at Tourism Toronto, and the thousands of people across the region who work hard every day to ensure visitors have a memorable travel experience."

The percentage of hoteliers that anticipated average daily room rates to increase is the highest it has been in the last eight quarters. For the second quarter of 2007, almost half of the respondents (49%) indicated higher room rates, while only 7% anticipated a decline.

The number of room nights and the occupancy rates are expected to grow. Almost one in three hotel operators expect an increase in their room nights booked (31%) and in their occupancy rates (32%). Only 19% of the respondents anticipate a decrease in their room nights booked while 17% expect their occupancy rates to decline.

More hotel managers (25%) also expect an increase in the number of corporate travellers than a decrease (18%). Similarly, 26% of hotel operators anticipate that the number of hours worked by their employees will increase. In contrast, 15% foresee that their employees will work fewer hours.

Labour shortages in the hospitality business are a major impediment. A shortage of unskilled labour was cited by 36% of the hoteliers and 33% noted a shortage of skilled labour. For the first time, hoteliers were asked if exchange rate fluctuations impeded their business. Just over one in five (22%) reported exchange rates had a negative impact on business. Respondents were also asked if economic conditions in their region had affected their business and whether security concerns or public health were issues. About 1 in 10 hotel operators (11%) indicated that regional economic conditions were an impediment, as did those who cited security concerns (9%). Only 2% felt that public health was an impediment.

The survey of around 1,500 businesses, mostly hotels, was conducted in April to assess their outlook about key indicators compared to the same period last year. Some of these key indicators include bookings, occupancy rates, room rates and hours worked by employees.

Note: The Business Conditions Survey for the Traveller Accommodation Industries is made possible with the support of industry partners, the Canadian Tourism Commission and the Ontario Ministry of Tourism. Results are based on survey questionnaires sent to traveller accommodation providers and are weighted by their operating revenues. Consequently, the larger businesses have a correspondingly larger impact on the results than smaller businesses.

Larger than magazine, book, spectator sport, movie theatre and performing arts sectors combined

TORONTO - The most comprehensive study ever conducted on the economic impact of gaming in Canada reveals that the gaming industry is responsible for more than $15 billion in direct revenue, more than $2 billion in direct salaried employment for Canadians working in the industry, and $10 billion in current capital investment.

"This is by far the most detailed research produced to date on the economic significance of the Canadian gaming industry," said Bill Rutsey, President of the Canadian Gaming Association (CGA), who commissioned the study. "It provides us with a rigorous basis of information to better understand our industry's pivotal role in the national economy."

The first phase of the study was released today at the CGA's Canadian Gaming Summit, a three-day gathering of more than 1,200 industry representatives in Toronto. The study covers the economic impact of gaming, broken down by type and by region, with a focus on overall revenues, direct employment, revenues generated for all three levels of government, and other ancillary benefits. The study was conducted by HLT Advisory Inc., a leading provider of consulting and support services to the Canadian and international hospitality, leisure and tourism industries.

Subsequent phases of the study will include an assessment of both the indirect and induced impacts of the gaming industry in Canada to provide an even greater level of detail concerning the overall impact, as well as further regional breakdowns on the impacts of specific gaming activities. Case studies will also be developed to illustrate localized impacts in specific regions.

"This was a challenging and groundbreaking study in terms of geography, the type of information gathered and the level of detail covered," said Robert Scarpelli, Managing Director of HLT. "In many cases, we validated some of the conventional wisdom regarding the importance of gaming. But in other ways, the preliminary findings were of a greater magnitude than even we had expected." <<

Specific findings include:

- The gaming industry contributes $15.3 billion to the economy directly, with most of this revenue ($8.6 billion or 57 per cent) going to government programs and services, as well as to charities.

- Gaming sizably exceeds other segments of the entertainment industry in terms of the direct impact on the economy. In fact, gaming revenues approximate those of the spectator sports, television, movies, books/magazines, and performing arts sectors combined.

- The industry generates approximately $700 million in non-gaming revenue, such as food, beverage and entertainment.

- From the perspective of the hospitality sector, gaming is just behind full-service restaurants (at $17.2 billion) and on par with limited- service restaurants (at $15.4 billion) in terms of economic contribution. Gaming also places ahead of accommodation services (at $14.3 billion) and air travel (at $11.9 billion) with Canada's two major airlines.

- The industry's investment in current capital construction is approaching $10 billion, with the largest portion of that investment (49 per cent) occurring in Ontario. >>

"Gaming has grown significantly over the past decade to become an essential pillar of the entertainment industry in Canada," said Mr. Rutsey. "It is rewarding to be able to reliably demonstrate how the majority of spending in the industry goes directly back to Canadians, in the form of paycheques, construction in communities, and in revenues for the programs and services and charities that we value."

Policy:www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tax/nonresidents/visitors/qa-e.html