This week, [Sunwing Vacations Group](https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4259885-1&h=3684205906&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sunwingvacationsgroup.com%2F&a=Sunwing+Vacations+Group) hosted its second annual leadership event, Amplify, bringing together approximately 150 leaders across its six powerhouse vacation and retail travel brands for a day of celebration and learning about key business, brand and strategic updates that are positioning the group for continued future growth. What's more, all presenters wore matching tropical-inspired shirts emblazoned with flamingos and palm leaves to elevate the vacation vibes of the event throughout the day.

Highlights from this year's Amplify Leaders Event included:

- A retrospective on the business over the past year and key milestones from Andrew Dawson, President of Sunwing Vacations Group
- Highlights for the upcoming winter season and the group's strategic vision for the future from Samantha Taylor, Chief Marketing and Digital Officer for Sunwing Vacations Group
- A presentation from Alexis von Hoensbroech, WestJet Group CEO, on the importance of the vacations business to the WestJet Group's overall growth
- An executive panel discussion addressing thought-provoking questions from attendees

Guest presentations from Sunwing's longstanding resort partner, RIU Hotels & Resorts, and from Sunwing's trusted partner in destination, NexusTours.com
Plus, key brand and business updates from Sunwing Vacations, WestJet Vacations and WestJet Vacations Quebec, SellOffVacations and Vacation Express
"We had an incredible day at Amplify this year, sharing key business updates, addressing challenges and opportunities in the travel industry and, most importantly, celebrating our passionate leaders who strengthen our business and make our company thrive," said Andrew Dawson, President of Sunwing Vacations Group. "It was an excellent kick-off to our upcoming winter season, which will see us bringing more Canadians to more sun destinations, and we cannot wait to deliver an incredible winter season for sun-seekers from coast to coast."

"Last year, we unveiled the new brand positioning for Sunwing Vacations Group to leaders, and this year we built on that incredible momentum by sharing more about the strategic pillars for our continued success," added Samantha Taylor, Chief Marketing and Digital Officer for Sunwing Vacations Group. "It was an inspiring day learning about each brand's marketing efforts for this winter, key markers for the future growth of the business, and to celebrate what truly makes our company great: our passionate leaders and employees, who inform our epic culture every single day while making vacation dreams come true for our cherished customers."

Sunwing Vacations Group, the vacation division of the WestJet Group, encompasses the leading Canadian vacation brands Sunwing Vacations, WestJet Vacations and, newly launched in May 2024, WestJet Vacations Québec, along with the growing United States tour operator Vacation Express, together with the group's travel retail businesses SellOffVacations.com and Luxe Destination Weddings. Together they form the largest vacations brands in North America. More information on each brand, the company's growth trajectory and employment opportunities can be found at [sunwingvacationsgroup.com](https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4259885-1&h=1761815902&u=https%3A%2F%2Fc212.net%2Fc%2Flink%2F%3Ft%3D0%26l%3Den%26o%3D3995579-1%26h%3D2723416672%26u%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.sunwingvacationsgroup.com%252F%26a%3Dsunwingvacationsgroup.com&a=sunwingvacationsgroup.com).

Sunwing Vacations Group

SVG-Amplify-2

Sunwing Vacations Group hosts second annual Amplify Leaders Event, bringing together 150 epic leaders for a day of team building and celebration

•	*Packages include flight departures from three Québec airports beginning in November 2024 to 13 destination airports*

•	*Featured resort partners include Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts, Barceló Hotel Group properties and many more resorts*

•	*The new vacation provider is operated by Sunwing Vacations Group, with day-to-day operations led by Lyne Chayer, Vice President, Québec for Sunwing Vacations Group*

As part of its ongoing commitment to providing more value and choice to its customer base in Québec, Sunwing Vacations Group today announced the launch of WestJet Vacations Québec, a new vacation provider offering all inclusive packages to 20 popular sun destinations and hundreds of resorts that are sure to become favourites among Québec residents.

Starting today, customers in Québec can secure great travel deals on their winter vacation packages to destinations and resorts across the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico when they book through their local travel advisor, online at VacancesWestJetQuebec.com, or by calling the WestJet Vacations Québec Sales Centre, with convenient flight departures from Montréal–Trudeau International Airport, Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport and Saguenay-Bagotville Airport to 13 destination airports beginning in November 2024.

WestJet Vacations Québec is currently offering 20 destinations across Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico, St. Maarten, Costa Rica and Panama, with new destinations to be added in future based on evolving customer demand. Of particular note, Tulum is a brand-new airport and must-visit destination for customers embarking on their Mexican getaways this winter.

What's more, featured resort partners for WestJet Vacations Québec include Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Mexico, soon-to-be-available Barceló Hotel Group properties in destinations including Cuba, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica, and select Princess Hotels & Resorts properties, including Grand Riviera Princess All Suites and Spa Resort in Riviera Maya, Mexico.

WestJet Vacations Québec is part of Sunwing Vacations Group, home to the largest vacation brands in North America and the vacation division of the WestJet Group. Day-to-day operations are being led by Lyne Chayer, Vice President, Québec for Sunwing Vacations Group.

"We are incredibly excited to launch WestJet Vacations Québec, a new vacation provider tailored specifically to our customers residing in Québec, featuring the destinations Québec customers know and love, and those that will soon be on their list of favourites, including the laidback destination of Tulum in Mexico," said Lyne Chayer, Vice President, Québec for Sunwing Vacations Group. "Québec residents can book online, through our Sales Centre or by reaching out to their local travel advisor to secure all inclusive packages to a number of great properties in destination, including Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts which are available to book now, and Barceló Hotel Group properties which will be available to book in the coming weeks. We cannot wait for customers to uncover the exceptional value and variety on all inclusive packages available through WestJet Vacations Québec, and look forward to helping them embark on their well-deserved getaways to the sun."  

Québec residents will find up-to-date information on vacation packages for the 2025 winter season, along with available destinations and resort partners, online at [VacancesWestJetQuebec.com](https://www.vacanceswestjetquebec.com/en/). Customers can also connect with their travel advisors or reach out to the WestJet Vacations Québec Sales Centre at 1-877-665-6045 to book their upcoming winter escapes to the tropics.

WestJet Vacations Qu bec Introducing WestJet Vacations Qu bec a

Introducing WestJet Vacations Québec, a new all inclusive vacation provider offering a curated selection of 20 sun destinations and hundreds of resorts tailored exclusively to Québec customers

Five powerhouse vacation and retail travel brands have been brought together under the newly created Sunwing Vacations Group, the vacation division of the WestJet Group, which will unlock more value for Canadians and provide customers from coast to coast with more affordable vacations to more sun destinations than ever before.

The creation of Sunwing Vacations Group comes on the heels of the WestJet Group's acquisition of Sunwing, which was completed in May 2023, and encompasses the leading Canadian leisure tour operators Sunwing Vacations and WestJet Vacations, the growing United States tour operator Vacation Express, together with the Group's own travel retail businesses SellOffVacations.com and Luxe Destination Weddings. Together they form the largest vacations brands in North America. Each brand within Sunwing Vacations Group will continue to be marketed as a unique standalone brand.

"Our longstanding success at Sunwing has been centred on providing innovative vacation packages to Canadians. With the establishment of Sunwing Vacations Group, we are furthering our commitment and providing Canadians with even greater value and choice on sun travel," said Andrew Dawson, President of Tour Operations for Sunwing Vacations Group. "We are very excited to bring all of these brands together under Sunwing Vacations Group, and unite in our collective purpose of passionate people making vacation dreams come true."

"Sunwing Vacations Group, as a division of the WestJet Group, simplifies the complementary nature of WestJet Airlines and Sunwing Vacations," added Alexis von Hoensbroech, Chief Executive Officer of the WestJet Group. "As the largest packaged vacations provider in Canada, Sunwing Vacations Group will be instrumental in fulfilling the WestJet Group's strategy to provide affordable, year-round leisure travel for Canadians from coast to coast."

The new vacation division was recently unveiled to leaders across all brands within Sunwing Vacations Group. The event brought leaders and people managers across the brands together for the first time to celebrate and learn more about the brand relaunch, hear about the joint vision for the future and how they can be advocates for the positive developments for all employees and customers.

"We're thrilled to introduce Sunwing Vacations Group, and overjoyed that we were able to bring 140-plus leaders across all of these brands together to celebrate the launch of our new vacation division," added Samantha Taylor, Chief Marketing Officer for Sunwing Vacations Group. "Leaders across the business united in person to share brand-specific updates and discuss best practices to help inform the customer experience, and to help propel each of these brands further in pursuit of offering Canadians unparalleled choice wherever they're at in their vacation journey."

Sunwing Vacations Group also recently launched a new corporate website, [sunwingvacationsgroup.com](https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3995579-1&h=2723416672&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sunwingvacationsgroup.com%2F&a=sunwingvacationsgroup.com), which provides more information on the brands that make up the new vacation division, the company's culture, growth trajectory and North American timeline, the epic employees that drive the business forward, and the employment opportunities currently available across all brands.

Introducing Sunwing Vacations Group: home to North America's largest vacation brands

Canadian travellers and the Canadian travel industry are overdue for good news. 

We are excited to announce an agreement under which the WestJet Group will acquire Sunwing Vacations (inclusive of SellOffVacations and Vacation Express) and Sunwing Airlines to create a new, combined tour operating business which will be led by Sunwing’s CEO Stephen Hunter. As part of the agreement, Sunwing shareholders will become shareholders in the WestJet Group. This transaction will bring together two distinctly Canadian success stories to deliver new travel options and greater value for Canadians. 

Following the close of the transaction, the new vacation division will include both Sunwing Vacations and WestJet Vacations Inc. The combination of WestJet’s strong balance sheet and vibrant growing national airline with Sunwing’s established brand and expertise in creating differentiated vacation packages will ensure this new tour operating business thrives. 

Like many Canadian businesses, the past two years have forced us to think long-term about what matters to us most, where we can manage costs and how we can expand our footprint while continuing to deliver on our purpose of making vacation dreams come true. It became abundantly clear that our reputation for innovative vacation packages would be strengthened by joining forces with a like-minded Canadian company with a well-established scheduled airline service. With WestJet, we have found that partner.

I am tremendously grateful for the role that our valued travel partners have played in Sunwing’s journey to date. In our long history as a company, we have always been motivated, challenged and excited by our trade partners and the agent community’s enthusiasm for helping our mutual customers make life-lasting memories on dream vacations at affordable prices. 

I hope and expect this working relationship will only strengthen in this next chapter, as we bring together two Canadian powerhouse brands to drive scale and continued growth in the travel sector. Specifically, having a single purchase point for vacation packages from more gateways to more destinations will simplify processes and help our agent partners grow their businesses. Additional benefits of the agreement include:

1.	More jobs. WestJet and Sunwing employees will have access to greater opportunities, whether they are pilots, cabin crew or tour employees. 

2.	More choice. We plan to strengthen the partnerships we have built with local, regional and international airports across and will be able to offer customers vacations to more destinations than ever before, in addition to increasing capacity year-round. Cities where WestJet operates will gain access to a wider array of vacation packages and regional growth is expected in several of our existing markets, particularly in Quebec where we have a longstanding presence. 

3.	Lower prices. The alignment between the two airline operations is essential to keep the business competitive as several low-cost carriers increase their presence in the Canadian market. 

I want to assure you that any existing plans customers have made with Sunwing will be honoured. Given that the agreement is subject to regulatory approvals, we will be operating business as usual for the time being.

Additional details on the agreement can be found in our official news release: [HERE ](https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/westjet-group-to-acquire-sunwing-vacations-and-sunwing-airlines-delivering-greater-value-and-more-sun-destinations-for-canadians-812680497.html)

Thank you for coming along on this journey with us, especially after weathering a difficult couple of years. Our industry’s best days are ahead of us.

Yours truly,

Andrew Dawson
President of Tour Operations
Sunwing 


Media

Sunwing Vacations Group hosts second annual Amplify Leaders Event, bringing together 150 epic leaders for a day of team building and celebration

Introducing WestJet Vacations Québec, a new all inclusive vacation provider offering a curated selection of 20 sun destinations and hundreds of resorts tailored exclusively to Québec customers

Introducing Sunwing Vacations Group: home to North America's largest vacation brands

Sunwing and WestJet to join forces and create a new tour operating business