The Meridian Club, a private 800-acre island vacation retreat on Pine Cay in Turks & Caicos, is planning on opening November 1, as it has done for over 30 consecutive years. While the recent hurricanes of Hanna and Ike proved to be a challenge, damage was minimal resulting in ongoing clean-up and replaced landscaping.

Thomas Cook has withdrawn from discussions with TUI Travel and Lufthansa about a merger of its charter airline Condor with TUIfly and Germanwings.

Kuoni is further expanding its destination management division: the Kuoni Group is to acquire the business activities of Australian Tours Management Pty Ltd., which is domiciled in Melbourne. The transaction will be formally effected on 1 November 2008.

Following the fall of British tour operator XL Group, British travel companies TUI Travel and Thomas Cook Group each said it was confident about meeting expectations for the year ending Sept. 30.

Marriott International, Inc. reported third quarter 2008 adjusted income from continuing operations of $123 million, an increase of 1 percent over the year-ago quarter, and adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) from continuing operations of $0.34, up 10 percent.

Analysis of Caribbean hotel performance by STR reveals a 5.6-percent RevPAR decline for 2008 through July. Hotel demand grew 0.4 percent during the period, however new supply growth and rate decreases led to decreased revenue for the region.