At this point, you should remove the 88:s from the image so you can start working on the XML. You don't want to put army numbers on top of army numbers
Anyway, for making XML, I suggest the
XML wizard - it is by far the most sophisticated tool you can find, and easy to use too. Although since you're working on this map alone, you should have no problems finding someone to do the XML for you - just promise them a map medal (each map can get 2)
As for graphics... I have a few things in mind: you could use some more land/sea separation. I would recommend a slight dark outline around all of the land area. It wouldn't mess with the style of the map too much, while helping with legibility.
The territory borders need to be stronger yet. They're still a bit hard to see. Don't be afraid to experiment with them, you can always change them back if you don't like them. To be honest I'd like to see the territory borders almost as strong as the bonus area borders are now, and the bonus area borders perhaps a little stronger.
You could also give the legend a black outline.
Something about the font bothers me slightly, but I can't quite put my finger on it...
The sea connections look a bit plain and boring. Maybe you could make them look like they were painted on, ie. so the line thickness varies and make them curve a bit...
The legend frame also bothers me slightly. The ornaments between the bonus area names look a bit off... the white "bubbles" on top of the orange frame are inconsistent in shape, and frankly this looks a bit unprofessional. Perhaps you could do some copypasting to make them more uniform and symmetric?
Anyway, that's all for now... I hope I didn't overwhelm you with my bullet points. Overall the map is looking real nice, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it develops.