“I’ve achieved everything I wanted to do”: Andrew Dawson wraps up final month at Sunwing

After more than three decades in tour operating – and nearly two transformative decades at Sunwing – Andrew Dawson is preparing to close a defining chapter of his career.

At the end of this month, on March 31, the president of Sunwing Vacations Group will officially step down and hand the reins to Marek Andryszak, who has relocated from Germany to Toronto to lead the company into its next era.

For Dawson, the moment is less about endings and more about evolution—both personal and professional.

“It’ll be weird not being involved in tour operating,” Dawson told PAX in a recent telephone interview, reflecting on a career spanning more than 30 years.

His departure marks the end of a remarkable run that helped shaped Canada’s vacation industry.

Since joining Sunwing in 2009, Dawson has been instrumental in turning the company into a powerhouse—building it into one of the largest vacation providers in the country and overseeing a strategy of full vertical integration.

From retail to airlines, resorts, and destination management companies, Sunwing became a tightly-controlled ecosystem designed for efficiency and growth.

But after nearly 17 years at the helm, Dawson felt the timing was right to fly in a new direction.

“It’s a change in era,” he said. “I needed a change and the company needs to move on. It’s probably easier to do so with new ideas.”

A career written in the sun

The word “sun” has followed Dawson throughout most of his professional life.

After starting his career in retail in the UK at Asda Stores, Dawson moved into travel when he joined Airtours plc.

After several years in their UK business, he moved to California in the late 1990s to become CFO of Sunquest Holidays, later advancing to vice president of commercial operations of Sunquest based in Toronto.

Then, in the early 2000s, Dawson returned to California to take on the role of president at SunTrips, a specialist tour operator that once served Western U.S. markets and destinations across Hawaii, Mexico and Costa Rica.

The business he inherited was struggling, and what followed was a full-scale transformation. He helped rebuild SunTrips from the ground up—introducing new charter airline partnerships, shifting operations toward lower-cost secondary gateway airports, and sharpening the focus on direct distribution.

Perhaps, most notably, he pushed SunTrips to become an early adopter of online booking at a time when the concept was still largely untested in the travel industry.

In 2004, Dawson returned to Canada to serve as president of Sunquest, overseeing all aspects of the business, including the development of long-term strategies for North America, until 2007.

It was his next move that would ultimately shape the rest of his career.

Dawson then joined the TUI Group as executive vice president of TUI Canada. His mandate was clear: oversee the sale and transition of TUI’s Canadian tour operator and retail assets to Sunwing.

At the time, Sunwing Vacations merged with struggling tour operator Signature Vacations and its SellOffVacations retail division under a strategic alliance with TUI.

In return, Sunwing, owned by the Hunter family in Toronto, gave TUI a 25 per cent voting interest and 49 per cent ownership in the expanded Sunwing Travel Group.

This also enabled the coordination of seasonal aircraft deployments between the two organizations.

It was a major turning point—not just for the companies involved, but for Dawson himself, who was named chief operating officer and president of tour operations at Sunwing.

“When I joined, I didn't know what was going to happen [with Sunwing] because they couldn't tell me until my first day,” Dawson recalled. “But it worked out well.”

That Sunwing-TUI deal ended up being “a golden one,” Dawson went on to say.

“It gave Sunwing the ability to grow very, very quickly,” he said. “It also gave Signature the ability to throw off some of the shackles it had for not being a Canadian entity. It was a win for both companies. TUI always said it was the best deal they ever made.”

From that moment on, Dawson became one of the central architects of Sunwing’s rise.

Building a vertically-integrated giant

At the time, Sunwing was already shaking up the market – something Dawson knew well, having faced Sunwing as a competitor.

“[Sunwing] was a scrappy, lower-margin company that made it very difficult for us,” he said, referring to his Sunquest days. “They shook up the market when they first started and made it very competitive.”

When Dawson joined Sunwing, that disruptive energy was harnessed and scaled.

Over the next decade and a half, he helped transform Sunwing into North America’s largest vertically-integrated leisure travel company.

The strategy was ambitious: control every aspect of the customer journey, from retail and booking platforms to airlines, resorts, and destination management companies.

It was a model built for resilience and efficiency, one that allowed Sunwing to adapt to market conditions, and deliver a consistent product.

“I’ve achieved everything that I wanted to do at Sunwing,” Dawson said. “We developed what was the biggest tour operator in North America, from fairly humble beginnings, and made it very profitable.”

The numbers tell part of the story. Under Dawson’s direction, Sunwing’s brands grew to serve more than 2.5 million travellers annually, spanning a portfolio that now includes Sunwing Vacations, WestJet Vacations, Vacation Express, SellOffVacations, and Luxe Destination Weddings.

But for Dawson, the milestones go beyond scale.

“I think getting to the millionth passenger in a year was a big moment for us,” he said, referring to an achievement dating back some 15 years.

Equally important, he said, are the “enduring relationships” that helped sustain the business over time—partnerships with hotels, destinations, and teams on the ground that enabled Sunwing to deliver.

“The fact we’ve had these relationships going for this long makes me very happy,” Dawson said.

Navigating turbulence

But no career in travel – particularly one spanning decades – is without disruption.

Dawson’s tenure included some of the most challenging periods the industry has ever faced.

While the global shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic is often seen as the defining crisis, Dawson points to turbulence that began slightly earlier.

The global grounding of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in 2019, notably, had a profound impact on Sunwing’s operations, severely limiting available capacity during a critical period, he said.

“It decimated so many airlines’ summer program. We barely had any aircraft left that year,” he said.

Then came the pandemic, which brought global travel to a near standstill. Like many companies in the travel sector, Sunwing was forced to navigate unprecedented uncertainty.

Sunwing, as a brand, has also presented its share of complexities.

“It’s very difficult for people, on the outside, to understand the difference between the name on the side of the plane and the name of the tour operator,” Dawson said. “Trying to distinguish that is very difficult – as we found out when we once experimented with selling some Air Canada seats, some WestJet seats and some Swoop seats. This led to a great deal of confusion.”

Then came the shift that reshaped the company’s future: Sunwing being acquired by the WestJet Group in 2023.

The deal, first announced in 2022, led to the creation of the Sunwing Vacations Group, with Dawson appointed as president of the new division.

He also joined WestJet’s executive leadership team, overseeing all aspects of the group’s vacation and retail services.

Moving from a family-run business to becoming part of a larger corporation is no easy feat.

“It’s different,” Dawson said of the transition. “It’s sometimes difficult to be a cog in a bigger machine when you’ve been used to executing your own decisions and doing them very fast.”

A team that "can turn on a dime" 

Dawson first announced his departure from Sunwing last year, giving both himself and the WestJet Group time to prepare.

His decision to leave Sunwing wasn’t driven by a single factor, he said, but rather a convergence of changes—both within the company and the broader industry.

“16 years is a long, long time to be at any place,” Dawson said. “Things have changed and it needs a bit of a shake.”

In fact, a lot has changed at Sunwing since Dawson’s first day. The integration of airline and hotel operations has evolved (Sunwing Airlines, for one, is now merged into WestJet’s mainline operations), the ownership structure has shifted, and the competitive landscape continues to change.

Despite the transformation, Dawson is most proud of what has remained constant.

“A lot of what we had in the past is still there,” he said.

He points to the culture within Sunwing as one of its greatest strengths: a tight-knit, experienced team capable of responding quickly to challenges and supporting one another when it matters most.

“It’s a group that works for each other…a group that can turn on a dime and make quick and meaningful decisions,” he said.

Shifting trends, new competition

Few executives have had as much exposure to the Canadian leisure travel market as Dawson. Over the years, he has watched trends shift, preferences evolve, and new competitors emerge.

And yet, at its core, the all-inclusive vacation market (Sunwing’s speciality) remains consistent.

“The core demand for that seven-night vacation, the no worries, just book it and everything’s taken care for you – that market is still incredibly strong,” he said.

What has changed is the experience, he said.

Where all-inclusive resorts once offered a single buffet and limited amenities, today’s travellers expect far more: multiple dining options, expansive properties, elaborate water parks, and high-end service.

“It’s the mega palatial experiences…everybody’s trying to find a way to outdo the other,” he said.

Destinations have also diversified. While the Caribbean and Mexico remain dominant, more Canadians are exploring alternatives in Europe and Asia, including countries like Spain and Portugal, for their winter vacations, he said.

At the same time, new forms of competition have emerged.

“Cruises, nowadays, are probably the biggest competitor we have,” Dawson said.

Passing the torch

As Marek Andryszak transitions into president of Sunwing Vacations Group (he officially started March 16), Dawson emphasized the importance of understanding both the team and the market.

“My advice [to Andryszak] would be to really value the experience and talents of the team he’s inheriting,” Dawson said.

He also highlighted the complexity of the Canadian retail landscape—a country where regional differences can significantly influence consumer behaviour.

“You can’t just do a one-broad-brush approach,” he said.

It’s a lesson that Dawson, who’s originally from Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England, learned firsthand, and one he believes will be critical for the next phase of leadership.

"When it matters, we all come together"

For the record, Dawson isn’t retiring. He’s just pressing pause (for now).

“We’ll see what comes next,” he said.

It’s a pause he has earned, though not one he expects to last forever.

“I think my wife will get very tired of me being at home…and I don’t think I’m old enough to be at home full-time just yet,” he said.

Travel, unsurprisingly, remains central to Dawson’s post-Sunwing plans. A trip to New Zealand is already on the books, and he has long hoped to visit Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

Football (soccer) is also on the agenda, including attending matches in Vancouver tied to the upcoming FIFA World Cup.

As for his possible return to the travel industry, Dawson is leaving the door open—and tour operating may (or may not) be part of the immediate future.

“I’ll keep my options open for now,” he said.

As the sun sets on Dawson’s chapter at Sunwing, he leaves with a final note of gratitude.

“I want to thank the industry for its support, but I also want to thank my competitors,” he said.

“We have brutal competitors sometimes, but at the end of the day, we’re all working in the same industry. When it matters, we all come together. I’ve been able to rely on Air Canada Vacations and Transat for support over the years, which has been very helpful in times of crisis.”

“It's a great industry. It's one that looks after itself. It's been fun.”

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