Vacation Express is delighted to announce that on December 9 it was wholly acquired by Sunwing Travel Group.
The Atlanta-based wholesale Tour Operator becomes the first US-based part of the Sunwing Travel Group, which is headquartered in Toronto, with businesses in Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.
"Today's announcement is great news for Vacation Express and our travel agent partners", commented Rene Jongmans, who continues in his role as President of Vacation Express. "We are now aligned with one of the world's premier leisure travel companies, which provides us with some great synergies and potential for growth of the Vacation Express business".
"After having looked for opportunities in the US market for several years, we found a great match in Vacation Express", commented Stephen Hunter, President & CEO of Sunwing Travel Group. "Vacation Express has a tremendous reputation for offering quality vacations, and a highly regarded management team. Its unique agent and consumer programs and constant focus on customer service set Vacation Express apart from the competition and we see this as a tremendous opportunity for us to enter the US marketplace and unlock the full potential of the Vacation Express brand".
"For years, agents have commented on the great programs we offer and the unique positioning our company has in the market", says Rene Jongmans. "With the support of a highly successful company like the Sunwing Travel Group, we will now be able to grow the Vacation Express brand far beyond the more regional recognition our company has had since its inception. I know that the entire Vacation Express team is excited about this great opportunity and we are looking forward to this new partnership."
About Vacation Express:
Based in Atlanta, Georgia, the company began operations in 1989 offering air and land packages to Jamaica. In 1992 it introduced its first charter flight to Cancun from Atlanta and grew rapidly throughout the 90's to become the premier charter operator in the Southeast and Midwestern part of the US. In this past decade, Vacation Express added an extensive scheduled air program to the Caribbean, Mexico and Costa Rica from most U.S. cities. Air/land packages and land only are offered to nearly twenty tropical destinations offering flight options on all U.S. and other airline partners. Vacation Express is a member of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), and the Tour Operator Program (TOP). The team members at Vacation Express are committed to maintaining the highest standards in the tour operator business and to delivering the best value. Each team member is carefully selected and properly trained on all products and programs, including extensive destination travel, in order to assist travel agent partners with first-hand knowledge of Vacation Express destinations and hotels.
About Sunwing Travel Group:
Sunwing Travel Group Inc., is Canada's leading vertically integrated leisure travel company. Over 1.3 million travelers per year, fly on Sunwing Airlines on vacations to Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, Europe and the USA arranged by tour operators Sunwing Vacations and Signature Vacations. Sunwing also operates a leading Canadian travel agency chain, a Destination Management company, and recently launched its own hotel company - Blue Diamond Hotels & Resorts. Family owned and operated, with almost 2,000 colleagues, the company entered into a strategic venture in 2010 with Tui Travel plc, the world's largest travel company, which now has a 49% equity, and 25% voting stake in Sunwing Travel Group.