Teri Recunyk joins AmaWaterways as BDM – Central Canada, Northern ON

AmaWaterways is welcoming a new member to its Canadian sales team as the luxury river cruise line strengthens its regional support for travel advisors.

Teri Recunyk, effective Feb. 13, will join the company as a business development manager for Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Northern Ontario, PAX has learned.

Previously, Recunyk was a leisure and corporate travel consultant in Manitoba for 17 years before becoming a manager at Expedia Cruises for its two offices in Winnipeg for more than 13 years.

“I am overjoyed to take on this exciting new endeavour with such an incredible river cruise company. This is not only an opportunity for me and for AmaWaterways, but also for all of Central Canada’s travel agencies and advisors,” Recunyk told PAX.

“There are almost no local BDMs in this region, which makes me especially honoured to build successful relationships for a company that has inspired me. I truly look forward to becoming a member of the AmaFamily and to share my love of river cruising and all that we have to offer to businesses and their customers.”

Ama grows regional BDM support 

Recunyk joins an already-robust AmaWaterways team, which includes business development managers Neil Dudley (overseeing Eastern Canada), Shauna Carter (in Western Canada) and Sandra Gardiner, who was recently promoted to director of sales for Canada.

Gardiner, in addition to managing national accounts, now oversees the Canadian sales team.

“It’s now a closer-knit collaboration,” Gardiner said last month, speaking to PAX about the restructuring. “I’ll get to work more closely with the team here in Canada. I can make decisions with them and look at how we can grow business from our side, with our understanding of the market.”

With Recunyk now on board, travel advisors can expect greater access to their BDMs, Gardiner said, and having an additional person on the ground, in general, means more exposure.

“I think it’s going to create better brand awareness around AmaWaterways,” Gardiner told PAX. “We’re already strong. It’s going to make us stronger.”

The right sparkle 

Gardiner, meanwhile, is thrilled to have Recunyk on her team.

“On behalf of Rudi and Kristin and Alex and myself and the entire AmaWaterways family, we are so excited to welcome Teri to our AmaFamily. I have known Teri throughout the years after I was lucky enough to visit Manitoba. She encompasses all the sparkle that will surely make her shine in this position in Central Canada,” Gardiner told PAX.

“We have recognized the need to have someone based locally in this newly-formed territory to better service the needs of our incredible advisors there. We are excited to grow our presence in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Northern Ontario and know that Teri will be there to support our partners.”

Travel advisors can contact Teri Recunyk at terirecunyk@amawaterways.com.

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