Winter Is Coming: Cuba’s out, WestJet Vacations is booming – Sunwing’s new president lays out the strategy ahead

On Aug 13, 2026

Winter Is Coming is an annual PAX series that takes readers inside the war rooms of Canada’s leading travel companies as the all-important winter booking season gets underway. In the weeks ahead, watch for exclusive interviews with industry leaders as PAX unpacks what’s new and next this season.

Cuba isn’t expected to return this winter.

WestJet Vacations is “growing like crazy.”

Samaná is getting extra attention.

And, behind the scenes, new tech and self-service tools for travel advisors are on the agenda.

There are a lot of moving pieces in Sunwing Vacations Group’s war room as Canada’s winter 2026-27 selling season approaches.

Leading the charge is Polish-born Marek Andryszak, who took over as president of Sunwing Vacations Group in March, relocating to Toronto, and succeeding Andrew Dawson, who has since joined Royalton International as chief financial officer.

Andryszak, who grew up in Germany, brings more than 25 years of senior leadership experience in the tour operator industry, including several executive roles with the TUI Group (which previously held a 49 per cent minority stake in Sunwing).

He was once CEO of TUI Central Region, COO and CEO of TUI Poland and, most recently, he served as CEO of DSR Hotel Holding.

Now, in his new role, Andryszak takes the helm of a Canadian vacation business that has undergone a sweeping transformation since the WestJet Group acquired Sunwing in 2023.

Today, Sunwing Vacations Group includes Sunwing Vacations, WestJet Vacations, WestJet Vacations Quebec, SellOffVacations.com, Luxe Destination Weddings and U.S.-based Vacation Express – giving Andryszak several levers to pull as the company navigates everything from Cuba’s tourism crisis and higher operating costs to evolving Canadian travel behaviours.

And, despite the challenges, he’s bullish about what lies ahead.

“Even with Cuba not there, I see this winter paving a clear, outperforming growth path,” Andryszak told PAX in an exclusive interview recently.

His conversation with us took place by video link before WestJet’s flight attendants launched a one-day strike earlier this month.

That labour disruption has since ended, with a tentative agreement now awaiting ratification, removing a key hurdle as the company prepares for the busy winter travel season.

And this year, the Group’s strategy starts with an important question: what do you do when one of your key sun destinations is suddenly no longer the powerhouse it once was?

Cuba leaves a big hole

There was a time when Cuba and Sunwing were practically synonymous in the Canadian package vacation business.

The connection ran deep. Even Sunwing’s annual Cuba event for travel advisors was a fixture on the trade calendar, routinely drawing big crowds and full capacity.

But the island’s tourism challenges over the past year have changed that equation considerably – and Andryszak isn’t banking on a major recovery this winter.

“We don’t expect Cuba to be up and running this winter,” he said. “There’s not even a sign of something.”

The challenge goes beyond restarting Cuba-bound flights, which were suspended earlier this year.

As previously reported, several international hoteliers, from Iberostar to Melia to Canada’s Blue Diamond Resorts, have pulled the plug in Cuba in the face of recent U.S. sanctions.

High-profile power outages, fuel shortages, food scarcity and transportation disruptions have further eroded tourism to Cuba, an industry long considered a cornerstone of the country’s economy. As a result, the Canadian government is advising its citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Cuba.

“The operators are gone. Even in finding new operators, it seems technically hard to imagine that we will start in November or December,” Andryszak said.

Embracing the alternative

Sunwing will be ready to react if circumstances improve, he added. But in the meantime, the priority is finding somewhere else for those Cuba customers to go.

Samaná and Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic are two destinations getting extra attention.

Overall, Sunwing Vacations’ bookings to the D.R. have increased by 50 per cent, with Puerto Plata alone up 60 per cent, while Samaná is also seeing significant growth following expanded service, resort, and experience offerings.

Eurostars Grand Cayacoa in Samaná, for example, has emerged as one all-inclusive alternative for customers who previously vacationed in Cuba, says Sunwing.

Additionally, in Mexico, destinations like Cozumel and Mazatlán continue to gain traction among guests seeking value and variety.

Sunwing is pushing certain hotel partners, like RIU, which Andryszak said is investing heavily in refurbishing multiple properties.

There’s also a recognition that replacing the volume lost from Cuba will take time, rather than happen over a single season.

“Our aim is to replace 15, 20, 30 per cent of our Cuba business,” Andryszak said. “I think it’s understood that we will struggle to replace all of it. But our mid-term ambition is to replace as much as we can, and that should be by far more than 50 per cent.”

For Andryszak, “mid-term” means one to two years.

But there’s another complication for travel advisors looking to redirect loyal Cuba clients: matching its price point.

Because let’s face it: a seven-day, all-inclusive beach vacation, with flights, hotel and transfers included, for under $1,000, doesn’t really exist anywhere else.

“There’s no other market that serves the same quality from that price,” said Andryszak. “That’s exactly the challenge now. We can’t serve customers that kind of product at those prices.”

WestJet Vacations is “growing like crazy”

Cuba’s troubles may be creating a gap, but another part of the Group is helping fill it.

Andryszak is particularly enthusiastic about the trajectory of WestJet Vacations, which is “growing like crazy.”

“It delivers a big leverage towards getting the volumes back again on a nice level,” he said. “Together, with Sunwing and WestJet Vacations, we are a big business.”

Part of that momentum comes from the WestJet ecosystem itself.

The airline has a large and loyal customer base – particularly in Western Canada – and Andryszak sees an opportunity to convert more of those travellers into vacation-package customers.

“They love WestJet, they like to fly with WestJet, and they like to buy vacations from WestJet. That seems to be taking off right now,” he said.

But there’s also another audience driving the growth: travel advisors.

Andryszak said investment in WestJet Vacations is producing a “huge dividend in the trade.”

“Our trade partners have started to see WestJet Vacations as an interesting product proposition. We see extreme growth throughout Canada, even in Ontario, and we see the growth coming from trade,” he said. “We are very happy that it’s happened because it helps us leverage the decline.”

Quebec feels the Cuba squeeze

The need to find alternatives to Cuba becomes even more pressing in Quebec, where the island has traditionally held enormous appeal.

“Quebec suffered from Cuba more than all of Canada,” Andryszak said.

Sunwing is consequently putting an even greater emphasis on Samaná in Quebec than it is elsewhere in Canada.

There are also signs Quebec travellers may be open to less traditional alternatives.

Andryszak pointed to regions in Pacific Mexico, including Mazatlán, where Sunwing is seeing potential.

“We know about the importance of Quebec. We don’t have all the answers yet on the table, but we are prepared to implement some of them to be successful there,” he said.

“Huge improvement” in Jamaica

As for what else is moving for winter, Jamaica is showing a strong rebound after the destination faced a devastating Category 5 storm, Hurricane Melissa, last October.

“Jamaica is doing really well,” said Andryszak. “We see a huge improvement in Jamaica.”

Victoria Bakos, PR and communications manager at Sunwing Vacations Group, highlighted several tried-and-true favourites that continue to perform strongly.

“Cancun is still a favourite. So is anything in Dominican Republic. Costa Rica is also one we’re pushing and that’s popular,” Bakos said.

There’s also been a recent change to Sunwing’s 2026-27 winter schedule.

Toronto-Acapulco, initially announced as part of the program, has since been dropped, with the company citing “operational restrictions” in a statement to PAX.

Cruise checks the boxes

Cruise is another piece of Sunwing Vacations Group’s winter puzzle.

Sunwing has been promoting cruise packages aboard MSC Opera and Marella Discovery, sailing from La Romana, Dominican Republic – an option that allows Canadians who are avoiding U.S. travel to cruise without having to fly into Florida.

For Andryszak, cruise isn’t simply another product category. It can help a tour operator manage capacity and risk.

“Cruise is a nice niche with tour operating because it stabilizes your production because behind the flight, there is certain number of seats that go with the cruise,” he said.

Cruise can also justify adding flights to a destination, with remaining seats then available for traditional vacation packages, he said.

It also brings another type of customer into the Sunwing ecosystem.

“It’s another gate entry point for those customer segments,” Andryszak said, adding that cruise is generally a strong-quality product that poses “very little risk” to a tour operator’s brand.

“It makes all the checks, and from that perspective, it’s a nice product.”

A European eye on the Canadian vacation

Andryszak brings an interesting outsider’s perspective to all of this.

After more than two decades with TUI, one of the things that attracted him to his new role was the structure of Canada’s vacation industry.

“It’s kind of an oligopoly. We have just three: Transat, Air Canada and us [the WestJet Group] as the three big players,” he said.

Even more interesting, he said, is Canada’s airline-led model.

“It’s an airline-driven market with tour operators as an extension of an airline. In Europe, it’s usually the other way around. The airline is an extension of tour operator,” he said.

But perhaps the more consequential observation is that Andryszak believes the Canadian package market has room to evolve.

And that includes questioning something as fundamental as the seven-day all-inclusive.

“Why is everything seven days? Why are other durations not so popular? Why is it just one meal plan at all-inclusive properties?” he asked. “Is that really the only thing the customer wants? Or did we train our customers to think that way? I need to find out. I need to learn, and I have a great team to learn from.”

Looking at what’s “happening around the world” in terms of how customers book their holidays, Andryszak sees opportunities to introduce more flexibility and choice in the Canadian market.

But he acknowledged the company’s existing technology has limitations.

“It won’t be overnight,” he said. “But I think we will get to that point.”

Are the integration bruises healing?

Any discussion of Sunwing’s future inevitably comes back to its integration with WestJet.

Andryszak joined the company after much of the heavy lifting had already taken place.

“There were some bruises, yes, and there were disappointments left and right. But it was done,” he said.

He said teams have been able to look back at operational problems, identify inefficiencies and implement improvements quickly.

The result, he suggested, is an organization that is beginning to see the payoff.

He cited WestJet’s improved operational performance as one example. In July, WestJet was named North America’s most on-time airline by Cirium for the second straight month.

“We are finding our way,” he said, “and operational processes are starting to click with each other, which is very encouraging.”

Even if there are still a few wrinkles in the picture.

“Yes, we have issues, of course,” said Andryszak. “Even in marriage, you have issues. But we’re moving forward and we’re moving pretty quickly. That makes me really confident.”

Who absorbs the higher costs?

Confidence may be soaring, but so are jet fuel costs.

The rising cost of fuel and operations, brought on by conflict in the Middle East, remains another pressure point as airlines and tour operators attempt to preserve the value proposition Canadians expect from packaged vacations.

Andryszak said keeping prices attractive requires different parts of the travel supply chain to share the pain.

“Generally speaking, we are investing through the margin, our hotel partners are investing through the rates, and our airline partner is investing through the rate as well,” he said. “We are sharing the burden of these additional fuel costs and trying still to offer an attractive product to our customers.”

There is one factor working in Canada’s favour, he said: softness in the U.S. market is making Canadian business more important to Mexican hoteliers, giving tour ops greater leverage at the negotiating table.

Still, don’t expect Sunwing Vacations’ $50 fuel surcharge to disappear immediately.

“There are no plans to remove or change it,” Andryszak said. “We’ll have to wait another few weeks and see what happens.”

Bakos said the company is addressing rising prices by finding ways to strengthen the overall value of the vacation package.

“The best thing with us is that you get the whole package,” she said. “Though prices go up, I think the one thing that keeps our customers loyal is that they get more for their dollar.”

That means investments in excursions, renovated product, family activations, weddings and events and other experiences, she said.

Going premium

Sunwing Vacations Group is also chasing customers willing to spend a little more.

Beginning Oct. 1, vacationers can book a premium cabin at the front of WestJet aircraft with enhanced amenities and services – adding an upgraded flight component to vacations that may already include higher-end accommodations.

Andryszak sees a clear market for it.

“I think at Sunwing and WestJet Vacations, there’s a segment that’s absolutely interested in higher values and better experiences,” he said.

“I’m very happy that we can now serve those customers now, not just in the accommodation, but also on the flight. It gives us additional upside in delivering more value this winter.”

Advisors: expect more self-service

There are changes coming for travel advisors, too.

Andryszak wouldn’t disclose specifics, but confirmed improving Sunwing Vacations Group’s systems, delivery processes and trade interactions is a priority over the next 12 months.

His philosophy is simple: advisors shouldn’t have to pick up the phone every time they need something.

“Our trade partners and our customers are happiest when they don’t have to call us for help,” he said.

Some of those changes are already taking shape.

Since our interview with Andryszak, WestJet Vacations has introduced a new self-serve cancellation feature for travel advisors, giving agents another way to manage eligible vacation package bookings online.

“Customers stay with you when they’re happy”

Andryszak also had some advice for travel advisors heading into winter: don’t lose sight of quality while chasing price.

“Customers stay with you when they’re happy, so you should always look at the quality of the entire package you offer,” he said. “If you take care of your customers, they will take care of you.”

That thinking mirrors what Bakos said Sunwing wants travellers to feel this winter.

“We’re investing in the guest experience,” she said. “From the plane to the destination to the excursions to the transportation.”

“It’s expensive to go on a trip. We want everybody to feel like they got their value from the very beginning.”

What does a winning winter look like?

For Andryszak, success this season won’t be measured solely in passengers or packages sold.

First, he wants customer satisfaction scores to continue rising. But he is also thinking a winter ahead.

With Cuba unlikely to return to its former scale anytime soon, the coming months will be a chance to learn where those customers go instead – and ensure Sunwing has more replacement destinations and properties ready for 2027-28.

“If we use the time to make next winter a much better one in terms of having preparations in place for getting ex-Cuba customers into new destinations and properties, that would be perfect,” Andryszak said.

In other words, winter is coming – and so is the next version of the Canadian vacation.

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