TORONTO — When Andrew Dawson first connected with the Hunter family, it was 2009 and a project pegged at two years had him guiding Signature Vacations’ integration with the up-and-coming Sunwing Travel Group.

“After working with Stephen and Colin and their team here, I was hooked by their drive, skills and personalities,” says Dawson. “I could see ways of adding lots more value to the already thriving business.”

Dawson has been doing just that for the past 14 years. As Sunwing’s President of Tour Operations, Dawson is an integral part of the Sunwing Vacations Group team, and a well-known and much-respected member of the Canadian travel industry.

We connected with Dawson for this latest interview in Travelweek’s 50th anniversary series.

Travelweek: When did you join Sunwing, and from where, and what was it about Sunwing that made you want to join the team? 

Dawson: “I had joined TUI in September 2009, having worked for several of their senior team in my days at Airtours Plc and also in Canada at Sunquest. TUI was finding it tough in Canada and had entered into an agreement for a strategic partnership for their Signature business with the up-and-coming Sunwing Travel Group and needed someone to help steer their piece of the process and the integration.

“Our intention was that this would be a two-year project, but after working with Stephen and Colin and their team here, I was hooked by their drive, skills and personalities, and I could see ways of adding lots more value to the already thriving business.

“We shared a vision across the wider team (including several other key people who came from Signature too and have become major parts of Sunwing’s success), to create an epic leisure travel company, of which high levels of product differentiation was, and still is, a cornerstone.

“Across the past 14 years I’ve been blessed with an exceptionally loyal, talented and passionate team that’s allowed us to really drive the immense growth and profitability of the businesses, deliver over 20 million great value vacations to our guests, and make Sunwing a fun place to work every day.”

Travelweek: Sunwing is such a strong presence in the Canadian travel industry, it’s hard to believe it arrived on the scene in 2005. Feels like it’s been around forever! Are there any favourite company stories you can share from Sunwing’s earliest days as a start-up? 

Dawson: “I’ve heard lots of stories of the early days, but they are not mine to repeat (fortunately). Mine are much tamer, and most were from our annual pilgrimage to present our budgets in Mallorca each July.

“One year TUI’s then CEO had spent days talking up his new diet, including the virtues of local food and fish. At the company dinner we had the choice of sea bass or steak. Eighty sea bass were ordered and just the one steak – for me. There were some horrified looks, but they all secretly wanted my dinner, and Peter Long found it amusing.

“The following year, my colleagues redressed the balance. It was the 2014 World Cup and the semi-final stage (so England were already home) and not only did I have to sit and watch with our German colleagues as they slaughtered hosts Brazil in the semi-finals, but they then made me spend the rest of the evening in the German bars surrounded by joyous celebrating fans. True torture, but then again I never had to buy a drink!”

Travelweek: WestJet’s acquisition of Sunwing and Sunwing Vacations was completed on May 1, 2023. What’s changed at Sunwing under its new owners, and is there anything that’s quintessentially Sunwing that you hope will never change? 

Dawson: “It would be wrong to say that it’s not a big change and an adjustment for us. This is unchartered territory for our new colleagues at WestJet Vacations too.

“We’re navigating through this process together, and we all share the same end goals and excitement about the prospects. There are amazing synergies to be had, and opportunities to offer even more vacations and great value to all Canadians.

“What has remained consistent pre- and post-acquisition is our steadfast commitment to our purpose of passionate people making vacation dreams come true. That is what drives us every day, and we continue to build on our purpose and on our team’s EPIC values: we are entrepreneurial, passionate, innovative and customer-centric. And now we do that in both orange and teal! Travel’s recovery continues with incredible momentum.”

Travelweek: What can you tell us about Sunwing Vacations’ summer 2023 performance? 

Dawson: “I’m glad to say there have been very few surprises this summer. With the disruption in 2019 from the MAX grounding, two COVID summers and an odd ‘restart’ summer last year, its been a while since we’ve experienced ‘normal’ so in some ways it’s a welcome relief.

“It has been interesting to see how a market that was so Cancun dominated in the early stages pivoted firstly to Punta Cana and then recently Cuba has become the demand destination. It’s kept us on our toes adjusting our capacity to match demand.”

Travelweek: What are you most excited about for Sunwing Vacations’ winter 2023-24 program?

Dawson: “We are excited for Sunwing to be returning to pre-pandemic travel levels and are offering a robust winter program this year, with 15% growth in capacity from last winter and travel to 26 sun destinations from airports across Canada.

“We’re especially proud to offer more affordable travel options for our valued customers in Atlantic Canada, the Prairies and in the province of Quebec. We look forward to furthering our commitment in each of these regions and bringing our customers more ways to travel to their favourite destinations in the tropics.

“Initial sales have been very encouraging, and early bookers could well have scored some great deals as the US dollar exchange and fuel costs are pushing pricing up along with lower room inventories in a few key markets.

“The good news is we’re as ready as ever for the challenge and look forward to making vacation dreams come true for our guests, whether they be with Sunwing Vacations or WestJet Vacations.”

Today the WestJet Group announced it will target October 2024 for the completion of its integration of Sunwing Airlines into WestJet Airlines. For that story, click here.

For all the latest product news from Sunwing, see Sunwing.ca, and for corporate info see sunwingvacationsgroup.com. Watch for more interviews and memories marking Travelweek’s 50th anniversary all this year. Plus, try your luck with our contest, ‘It Happened This Week’, featuring a new headline (and a new chance to win!) every week from Travelweek’s 50 years of travel industry news coverage.