Suppose you are a top executive from one of the worlds largest and Europe’s most influential travel company, TUI AG. You are planning your wedding and can choose anywhere in the world. In your position you have contracted business with resorts in the most beautiful destinations in the world…Bali, Thailand, the Greek Islands, the Caribbean, the French and Spanish Rivera’s, …all the major cities in the world…and any one of them would consider it an honor and privilege to host your wedding? Where would you choose? Mr. Manfred Lahey of TUI International, based in the Netherlands chose Eagle Beach, Aruba and the Bucuti Beach Resort.

Their wedding was planned with Bucuti management under strict secrecy to preserve an intimate atmosphere and was an elegant affair held on the beach at sunset. Bucuti utilized the enthusiasm and skill of their talented team of associates to produce the elegant wedding of their dreams complete with a blazing orange sunset as the backdrop for parents, family and friends who attended. After the romantic beach ceremony, family and friends joined for a gourmet meal on the beach beneath an open air wedding tent decorated with flowers, creamy crisp linens and candlelight with tuxedoed servers serving on silver service.

“We have known Susan and Ewald Biemans for over 10 years and their resort feels like home to us” states Irma and Manfred. “The Bucuti Beach Resort and Tara Suites are beautiful and their beach is quiet and romantic. We both found it to be the perfect choice”.

Touristik Union International ( http://www.tui.com/en/ ) is headquartered in Hannover, Germany and employs 57, 716 people. TUI has an excellent position in its core tourism business. With a turnover of around Euro 13.1 billion, the Group is the unchallenged market leader in Europe. The European tour operators within World of TUI reach over 80 per cent of European holidaymakers. In 2004, the Group had around 18 million customers. TUI now includes about 3,200 travel agencies, more than 100 aircraft, 37 incoming agencies and 290 hotels with 163,000 beds in 28 countries. Around 12,000 business travel professionals in over 80 countries also look after the Group’s business customers. ( Source: http://www.tui.com/en/pressemedien/tui_profile/brief_portrait/index.html )

Condé Nast Traveler magazine today released the names of the 23 school children finalists in the 14th Annual “My Caribbean Essay Contest.” This contest, the first of its kind for Caribbean school children, has become a symbol of Conde´ Nast Traveler’s commitment to the development in the Caribbean.

The 23 student finalists and their chaperones will fly courtesy of American Airlines to the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s annual conference (CTC) in St. Thomas, USVI which is being held this year from October 23 - October 26, 2005. At the conference, a grand prize-winner and two runners-up will be announced during the awards ceremony on October 25th. A $2,000 scholarship will be awarded to the winner, along with $500 scholarships for the two runners-up. The winning essay will also be featured in the December 2005 issue of Condé Nast Traveler.

The finalists in alphabetical order by country are:

Anguilla, Nordisia Lake
Antigua & Barbuda, Samuel Nurse
Aruba, Gloria Franken
Bahamas, Danielle Roberts
Barbados, Gabrielle Farley
Belize, Kristin Marin
Bermuda, Zoe Friesen
British Virgin Islands, Jodi Samuel
Cayman Islands, Clare-Louise McGrath
Dominica, Tamika Jude
Grenada, Shadina Simon
Guyana, Angela Singh
Jamaica, Shanice Hinds
Montserrat, Karishma Dhera
Nevis, Uta Trish Taylor
St. Eustatius, Greida Gibbs
St. Kitts, Davon Richardson
St. Maarten, Terequé Leblanc
St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Vakeesha John
Suriname, Raies J. Wolfram
Trinidad & Tobago, Rhonda Bobb
Turks & Caicos, Carolyn Martinez
U.S. Virgin Islands, Dionna Hopkins

This annual contest is part of a tourism awareness program for school children between the ages of 8 and 12. Each of the 23 finalists attending the Caribbean Tourism Conference will receive an eye-opening experience into the world of tourism. The contest, sponsored by Condé Nast Traveler, the Caribbean Tourism Organization, and American Airlines, educates elementary school children in the Caribbean islands about the importance of tourism to their country’s economy. Grade school children of the 32 CTO member countries were asked to submit a 250 word essay on the following topic:

“If you were given the responsibility of preserving your island’s environment and maintaining its beauty, how would you do that, and how would you involve your whole community from children to adults?”

The theme and rules for the 2005 “My Caribbean” essay contest were communicated to all CTO members by the magazine’s publisher, Lisa Hughes who said,“ The Condé Nast Traveler “My Caribbean” essay contest is the highlight of our year. The children who participate are exceptional - articulate, gifted, hard-working, committed. The themes they address in their essays – their islands’ history, culture, environment - are important to both Condé Nast Traveler and the Caribbean tourism boards. We are proud to support the children of the Caribbean and the Caribbean Tourism Organization.”

Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, Caribbean Tourism Organization Secretary General added: “The Caribbean Tourism Organization is proud to be associated with this important programme designed to prepare our tourism professionals of tomorrow for the opportunities and challenges of the tourism industry. For the past 14 years, Condé Nast Traveler has been a valuable partner in this venture and we look forward to maintaining this excellent relationship as we continue to embrace travel and promote tourism in the years ahead.”

By Tania Fuentez for MySanAntonio.com

Should you get lost in Aruba, follow the divi-divi trees.

That was the tip from Leroy King, a tour guide, as my mother, aunts and a busload of people ventured into the rocky, parched interior that defines much of this unique island.

The divi-divi trees — gnarled and outstretched to the Caribbean Sea — have been contorted by the steady trade winds into huge, bonsai-like figures, and their limbs point west, to the bustling hotel district.

But we quickly realized that many of Aruba’s points of interest are far from the hotels and the island’s Main Street, with its colorful casinos and storefronts. Away from these developments, we encountered white sand dunes amid rugged desert landscapes. The coastline is strewn with coral-encrusted shipwrecks. Volcanic rock formations, lagoons and gold mine ruins wait to be explored, and towering cacti and aloe dot the arid countryside.

Read the complete story go to:
http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlc=1114195

By Tania Fuentez for Ohio.com

Should you get lost in Aruba, follow the divi-divi trees.

That was the tip from Leroy King, a tour guide, as my mother, aunts and a busload of people ventured into the rocky, parched interior that defines much of the unique island.

The divi-divi trees — gnarled and outstretched to the Caribbean Sea — have been contorted by the steady trade winds into huge, bonsailike figures, and their limbs point west, to the bustling hotel district.

TO READ THE COMPLETE STORY GO TO:
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/living/7650677.htm

By Karyn J. Bilezerian for the Boston Herald

Bostonians clearly have a love affair with Aruba. It seems like nearly everyone here knows at least someone who makes regular pilgrimages.

It’s not suprising when you consider that, according to the Aruba Tourism Authority, more than 54,000 Boston-area residents visited Aruba last year, making Beantown the island’s second-largest tourism market after New York.

What inspires such devotion to a 70-square-mile vacation locale? After all, there certainly are closer places to visit - Puerto Rico, Bermuda and the Bahamas, to name a few - that, like Aruba, offer sun, beaches and water sports. So just what is it that gets provincial Bostonians to make the nearly five-hour flight from Logan (longer if you have to switch planes in Miami.)?

TO READ THE COMPLETE STORY GO TO:
http://theedge.bostonherald.com/travelNews/edgeTravel.bg?articleid=76