C10 - Sunday, July 8, 1984 - Narth Shore News Mixing business with pleasure In many cases companies are providing the airline tickets and picking up the costs of the convention, leav- ing the delegates to work out their own arrangements for ahy time they spend abroad either before or after. If you’re paying the shot yourself, hoping to hand the government the bill with your imcome tax, better have a chat with your accountant. In most cases your spouse’s ex- penses aren’t deductible, even if the conference pro- vides special programs for their education. If both of you are active partners in a business and can prove that your tmp abroad was directly related to said business you'll have better luck. It’s wise to collect a parcel of proof! Hang onto every bit of correspondence, especially notes confirming meetings with individuals. Keep any receipts you collect confirming your attendance at various convention functions. I get the feeling that a government accountant, chained to a desk in the tax office takes a mighty un- charitable view of Mr. and Mrs. Joe Taxpayer whooping it up in Warsaw and expec- ting the government to underwrite the project. "ANY people are taking advantage of European conferences for business or pro- fessional reasons to get a head start on their summer travel plans. In any case, Whow before you go and save yourself a dismal shock next spring. Another problem with ‘conventioneering’ ts the ex- tra clothes you'll likely need. One reader called, concerned about the formal wear re- quired for some of the func- tions they’d be attending. Husband required evening dress — boiled shirt and the whole bit — while she needed to be every bit as elegant. But who wants to drag those duds around for three weeks after the convention while they toured around? The obvious answer,1s to parcel up the evening wear and mail it home. That should leave just the right amount of space in your sult- cases to hold your souvenirs. To make it easy, bring along the paper and heavy tape from home as well as an indelible marker for labeling. You'll be surprised how difficult it can be to pur- chase these supplies in a strange citv declaration when you return to have it included in your exemption. The parcel will be held for 35 days at your home post of- travel-wise | called Canada Customs to be sure that there would be no problem with the parcel returning to Canada. There is none, providing that all the used garments have Cana- dian labels. Should you be taking any garments previously purchas- ed abroad and of sufficient value to cause the Customs officer to raise an eyebrow (maybe your littl Chanel dress?) you can have the gar- ment stamped at the point of exit. The Customs office at international airports in Canada 1s open 24 hours a day. Canada Post advises that the parcel should be clearly labelled ‘‘USED CLOTHING” — use that in- delible marker. If you mail any new stuff, mark down the value and be sure that you include it on your personal by Barbara McCreadie fice. You'll receive a yellow card in your mailbox to ad- vise you of its arrival and you'll have to go to the main branch to pick it up. Should you be returning much later you can get an extension on this time from a supervisor. You may also arrange to have someone pick up the parcel for you — leave a letter of authorization with this person. Don’t be surprised if the parcel is opened by Canada Customs — a lot of funny packages full of used clothing and other things arrive in Canada from overseas. If the clothing is very valuable — and_ evening clothes, especially men’s suits and those little Chanel gowns, aren’t cheap, check with your insurance com- pany. Overseas mail is generally reliable, but Bag and tag your luggage LOSING LUGGAGE is a very unpleasant way (o start a holiday and wt can be more than annoying. One of the best ways of preventing such an unwanted occurrence 1s also the easiest: to identify properly-each and every piece of luggage And if a bag should get lost or temporarity misplaced, the identification (iD) tag ts the surest way of getting wo back quickly This golden rule ts esper tally true in au travel Every year, close to 800 million people travel worldwide, along with 1.2 billion pieces of luggage, moving from air port to airport for a total of 8 billion separate operations Most bags arrive with the passenger at the final destina thon point: And with accurate ID, and speedy tracing systems, more than 70% of lost bags are delivered to the passenger within 24 hours Although baggage handl mg techniques have unproved 925-1212 PRIME TRAVEL Suite 210 4 Hollyburn Plaza 1760 Marine Orive, West Van Member of NITA greatly in recent the advent of wide-bodied aircraft’ capable of holding baggage containers, the aur- lines’ key objective as to eliminate baggage mis handlings To this end, most airlines strongly the use of years with recommend ID tags and the vast majority of travellers make use of the tags. sup phed tree of charpe by the CAPriers For cxample, Ai Canada’s Transportation Sererces vert ermine My as hast tect report that the uulization rate at the airline 1s quite high, hovering around 91 to 92 per cent. For baggage handhng and customer protection, the 1D tag is an extremely useful tool Tt ts mainty helpful in (racing a bag after mis handling and minimizes lug gage switches at carousels dn addition to the WD) tag. it as also recommended to keep some sort of WD in the bap stself rN s\. | Lied Hae — “a —— Class Poolside sate © Heusable Picnics * Boatin Beach barbecues © Dishwasher sate ideal for evetyday dining Sale price a 3° Park Royal North * Parties © Travellin 922-9650 Richmond Centre Mall 276-2606 wouldn’t it be just your Juck —_? Another alternative to mailing the parcel home is to leave it at your hotel. Euro- pean hotels usually provide a luggage checking service for guests. Of course, this will only work if you're departing from the same city. Years ago, charter-class_ tickets demanded that you enter and leave Europe through the same ‘‘gateway’’. Now it’s common to arrive perhaps in London and head for home from Frankfurt — and a very sensible way of travelling. And, just a reminder of those of you travelling in Northern Europe this year — carry your travellers’ cheques in Swiss francs or German marks - our Canadian dollar is a lousy choice. If Britain is your only destination, carry your cheques in pounds. And, don’t forget a Visa card — it’s the best choice of all the credit cards — ac- cepted everywhere. If you’re going to be away for an ex- tended visit, don’t forget to leave a cheque with someone to mail in your payment. Visa doesn’t fool around with overdue accounts! Careers in Travel We can open the door to the exciting world of travel tor YOU! DAY & EVENING COURSES mn TRAVEL COUNSELLING TOUR ESCORTING SALES & MARKETING COMPUTER TERMINAL TRAVEL TRAINING CENTRE Ste 2 1583 Pemberton Ave North Vancouver 986 2221 + Sesimbra berry three acqhits hee tae! ne) a rs Te obtes eA | ae ee NITA aun 7d NORTH VANCOUVER ALL WORLD TRAVEL 980 956) LOU CROSSIL TRAVEL 980 6561 OISCOVER YOUR WORLD TRAVEL $60 4526 MERCURY TRAVEL 985.6131 NORTHWEST TRAVEL 987 B14) ORCHID FRAVtI 084 0361 PAVIIN SPECIALIZED (OURS Hee rar Experience the unique PORTUGAL Albutewa Soutien ye erprcrchere gon cyt Peyges tif North Shore Independent Travel Agents (604) 980-0321 (604) 681-1646 NEW ZEALAND $1210.00 NEW YORK $499.00 HAWAII $359.00 QUEBEC CITY $456.00 LOS ANGELES $279.00 INTERESTED IN A CRUISE? cail Manuela our cruise specialist. Cruise the Romantic Rhine “2280 Exotic Hong Kong 2 week tour from ind. air, hotel & Jatt $1399 © EXCLUSIVE TOURS e THE BEST PRICES 2 weeks ind. air & hotels pp, dbi oc. North Shore Independent Travel Agent Orchid Travel 1814 Lonsdale 984-0381 Pavlik Specialized Tours Deep Cove 929-791 et ees | | Cascais Lisbon eatacg Tage tees git cape cot a) a *1759 STEELES TRAVEL womiD O68) 2214 TIME OUT TRAVEL 98) S244 VENTURE TRAVEL 986 1477 WEST VAN ALTEC TRAVEL W22 8182 INCENTIVE TRAVEL O21 O19 PRIME TRAVEL QIN LNG ROSEWAY TRAVEL 426 4544