Sunwing Travel Group

Sunwing Travel Group
Private
Industry Conglomerate
Founded 2002
Founders Colin Hunter
Headquarters Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Area served
 Global
Key people
  • Stephen Hunter CEO, president
  • Andrew Dawson COO
Products
Owner TUI Group (49%)
Number of employees
 1,710 (2014)[1]
Subsidiaries Sunwing Airlines, Sunwing Vacations, Signature Vacations, SellOffVacations.com, Vacation Express, LUXE Destination Weddings, NexusTours, Travel Smart
Website www.sunwingtravelgroup.com/en

Sunwing Travel Group is a privately owned, vertically integrated travel company headquartered in Toronto.[2] The group operates an airline, three tour operators, a retail chain and destination management company.[3]

History

Sunwing Travel Group was founded in 2002 by Colin Hunter.[3][4] By 2004, Sunwing had become the second largest tour operator in Ontario.[5] On November 17, 2005, Sunwing Airlines' inaugural flight, a Boeing 737-800, departed from Toronto Pearson airport.[6]

In 2009, Sunwing Travel Group announced that it was acquiring the tour operator Signature Vacations and its SellOffVacations.com retail division from the UK-based TUI Travel.[7][8] As part of the acquisition TUI gained 49 percent ownership of Sunwing Travel Group and Stephen Hunter replaced his father as CEO of the company.[9] Sunwing Travel Group acquired Caribbean NexusTours, a tour operator in the Dominican Republic and Mexico, in 2010. The company was renamed NexusTours and remains a separate company within Sunwing Travel Group.[10] In 2011, Sunwing Travel Group announced that it would enter the European market with a seasonal service from Canada to Europe.[11] On December 9, 2011, Sunwing Travel Group acquired the Atlanta-based tour operator Vacation Express for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition was the group's entrance to the US market.[12]

In 2015, Sunwing Travel Group announced that affiliate, Blue Diamond Resorts, would open a 600-room resort in Jamaica.[13] Later that year, the company began construction on $400 million Resort in Antigua with 500 rooms.[14]

Subsidiaries

Company Sector
LUXE Destination Weddings Retail
NexusTours Travel
SellOffVacations.com Retail
Signature Vacations Travel
Sunwing Airlines Travel
Sunwing Vacations Travel
TravelSmart Vacation Club Hospitality
Vacation Express Travel

Controversies

In June, 2012, an unnamed individual and Transat A.T. submitted information to the Canadian Transportation Agency that was believed to challenge Sunwing's ability to operate an airline on the grounds of foreign ownership. In November 2012, the CTA announced that Sunwing operated within foreign ownership limits.[15]

In 2015, a woman's wheelchair was lost during a Sunwing Airlines flight. The wheelchair was lost from Thursday until Saturday morning and was returned to her damaged.[16] Sunwing Vacations offered the woman and her husband full refund for the trip.[17]

References

  1. ↑ "Sunwing Travel Group". Profit Guide. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  2. ↑ Bonaparte, Anthony (November 25, 2015). "Sunwing's Growth Has Been Nothing Less Than Astonishing". The Suburban. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Company Overview of Sunwing Travel Group Inc.". Bloomberg Business. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  4. ↑ Infantry, Ashante (October 24, 2010). "Sunwing's Singing CEO". Toronto Star. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  5. ↑ Savedra, Jen (July 17, 2006). "Sunwing "Does it Differently"". Express Voyage. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Sunwing Airlines Soars From Toronto Pearson" (PDF). Toronto Pearson Today. February 2006. p. 7. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  7. ↑ Owram, Kristine (September 29, 2009). "Sunwing, Signature Vacations to Merge". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  8. ↑ Jang, Brent (September 30, 2009). "Tour Rival Merger Pressures Transat". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  9. ↑ Sorensen, Chris (September 30, 2009). "Sunwing, Signature to Become One". The Toronto Star. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  10. ↑ Dunn, Brian (March 22, 2012). "At The Gate: A Sunny Proposition". Wings Magazine. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  11. ↑ Deveau, Scott (March 2, 2011). "Sunwing Joins Transat in European Market". Financial Post. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  12. ↑ Baran, Michelle (December 14, 2011). "Sunwing Acquires Vacation Express". Travel Weekly. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  13. ↑ Major, Brian (April 23, 2015). "Sunwing Group to Build $150 Million All-Inclusive Resort in Negril, Jamaica". Travel Pulse. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  14. ↑ Major, Brian (June 2, 2015). "Antigua Enlists Star Power in Pushing 'Aggressive' Tourism Development". Travel Pulse. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  15. ↑ Deveau, Scott (November 6, 2012). "Sunwing Survives Foreign Ownership Challenge by Transat". Financial Post. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  16. ↑ Wetselaar, Sean (May 30, 2015). "Bowmanville Woman "Stuck in Limbo" After Missing Wheelchair Returned, Damaged". Toronto Star. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  17. ↑ Yuen, Jenny (May 29, 2015). "Bowmanville Woman Waits for Wheelchair's Return From Cuba". Toronto Sun.
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