Come Together: Sunwing Vacations and WestJet Vacations Combine Trade Sales Teams

A team-building workshop last week celebrated the official integration of WestJet Vacations trade sales team members with the existing Sunwing Vacations team under the leadership of Deana Murphy, VP Sales & Business Development at Sunwing Vacations Group. 

Travel agents will continue working with their established contacts at both brands, which the company says will maintain their distinct identities and product offerings.

Shannon Cunningham, Director of Sales for WestJet Vacations, Graeme Franklin, Director of Sales for Western Canada, David Wright, Director of Sales for Ontario and Atlantic Canada and Gustavo Moor, Business Development Manager for Quebec, now all report to Murphy, with their respective teams continuing to report to each director. The combined team brings over 430 years of travel industry experience.

“It was wonderful having the whole team from across Canada come together for the first time,” Murphy said. “Everyone thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each other during the events. I’m confident the travel advisors will continue to enjoy working with all of their favourite WestJet Vacations and Sunwing Vacations team members as we continue to differentiate and uniquely promote the two brands.”

The two-day workshop kicked off with a hands-on culinary experience at Chef Upstairs in Vaughan, where teams prepped and cooked a six-course meal together. This was followed by a full day of strategic planning meetings at the Sunwing head office, concluding with an evening with the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre.

The WestJet Group says the integration marks a significant milestone in its tour operations strategy, creating a unified sales force.