In a move that resonates on many levels, the Sunwing Vacations Group has launched WestJet Vacations/Vacances WestJet Quebec (WVQ) in La Belle Province as a “new tour operator with new destinations” for Quebec consumers, starting next winter. It also represents the latest step Sunwing’s integration into the WestJet fold, though as a standalone division that will also operate WestJet’s overall tour operations.

At the same time, Lyne Chayer, VP Quebec for Sunwing Vacations Group, likens the new two -tour operator system as “kind of going back to the business model as when we had Signature (Vacations).”

Vacances WestJet enters the market today (May 14) with the first bookings available as of Nov. 1:

Here are the key details:

• Packages will include flight departures from three Quebec gateways – Montreal, Quebec, and Saguenay-Bagotville – beginning in November to 20 popular sun destination across Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico (including Tulum), St. Maarten, Costa Rica, and Panama, with new destinations to be added in future based on evolving customer demand
• Featured resort partners will be different from Sunwing and include Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts; Barceló Hotel Group (coming in a few weeks); select Princess Hotels & Resorts properties, including Grand Riviera Princess All Suites and Spa Resort in Riviera Maya, Mexico; and many more resorts.
• WVQ will be run by Sunwing and utilize the same staff and logistical functionality (i.e. call centre, agent portal, etc.); and while bilingual, operation and service will be French-first
• Base commission for WVQ will be 8%, however travel advisors will earn 2% more bonus commission on client bookings made until July 31, 2024, through the WestJet Vacations Québec’s Reservations Sales Centre for travel between Nov. 1 and April 30, 2025.

Montreal-based Chayer, who is leading day-to-day operations of WVQ, explained to Travel Industry Today that WestJet Vacations currently exists everywhere in Canada except Quebec and has “basically no presence in the province.” To access the product, clients would have had to fly from Montreal to Calgary, and then connect to their sun destination.

“And that’s why the sales really weren’t there,” she observes. “But now we will offer direct flights to them… We will keep Vacances Sunwing, but we are introducing a second tour operator to increase seat capacity and offers… such as Bahia Principe, which are very well known here in the province, and Barcelo properties. Obviously, we have more than those two chains, but that is basically where the bulk of the business will go…. WestJet will still operate domestic flights (from Quebec) but basically everything that is Sun or a Sun package will be sold through Vacances WestJet Quebec.”

Chayer notes that Sunwing will retain its own extensive and unique product line (including RIU and Blue Diamond properties), which has been growing steadily and has made the company a massive player in Quebec since launching in 2006.

Travel advisors and keeping it simple

To sell the new product, Chayer says agents will simply go into Sirev and search a destination, at which point they will see all available packages for both WestJet and Sunwing and be able to offer to their customers either brand. For customers, a new dedicated website and app have been launched, while for the trade, the existing Sunwing agent portal will be co-branded with WestJet Vacations and include all the same functionality and the ability to choose either tour operator after logging in.

“Everything that’s available will be available for both brands, but under a unique sign-in,” she says, adding, “So, basically the vision of this new tour operator is to keep everything a simple as possible for our partners, travel advisors.”

And, she laughs, “We’ve kind of cut and pasted everything that Sunwing does, in the sense that terms and conditions are the same, deposit amount is the same, the worry-proof protection is the same, the insurance company (Manulife) is the same, so we’ve really made it as simple as possible for the travel advisors to deal with us.”

But most important, Chayer says, is for the trade to understand that the new WVQ brand is managed by the team of Sunwing Vacations, “which means that, here in Montreal, we have an office with about 200 employees who will manage day-to-day everything for WestJet Vacations. So, if a travel advisor calls in, they’ll be calling our call centre in Montreal. If they want to do a group, they’ll be dealing with our groups department in Montreal. It’s really managed here, in French – bilingual, but French-first.”

Consumers

Meanwhile, the key for consumers will be wider choice of products between the two brands. A client in Saguenay, for example, accustomed to booking Riu, can now book Barcelo. “It’s going to unique because they could not have bought it before. It’s a really great expansion.”

Chayer admits that consumers may not be aware that WestJet bought Sunwing and that the two tour companies have the same ownership, but says, “That’s why the trade to us is so important. In Quebec, a huge number of our sales are through the trade so its really important that we really communicate to travel advisors so they can really communicate to their customers.

“At the end of the day, the customer needs to trust the brand, so the WestJet brand is well-known and trusted, so that’s really the pillar of the tour operator, and it’s important for consumers to know that they will be serviced in French in the province. Consumers and travel advisors won’t be calling in to the Calgary office, they’ll be calling in to Montreal.”

“I think the trade is going to be excited,” she concludes. “It’s something different; it’s something new in the market, instead of selling exactly the same things all the time.

“And I think you can also start to see the integration of WesJet and Sunwing, which is the original vision. When WestJet acquired us, it was really to get our expertise as a tour operator. WestJet sells 90% of their seats as air only, and 10% in packages. We (Sunwing) are completely reversed. So, it’s a perfect match, and it’s great to see after only a year after the acquisition, we start to see the merger and the two companies working together and really creating an exciting new tour operator in Canada – and it starts here in Quebec.”