SUNWING TRAVEL GROUP LAUNCHES NEW HOTEL DIVISION

Montreal, September 15, 2011

Sunwing Travel Group is delighted to announce the inception of "Blue Diamond Resorts", a new wholly owned subsidiary which will manage and develop its own portfolio of destination resorts.  

Continuing Sunwing's tradition of innovation, which has seen its rapid progression to the pinnacle of the Canadian leisure travel market, Blue Diamond Resorts has been established to provide unique and differentiated products specifically tailored to the needs of discerning North American vacationers.  

The new company will be headed by Fred Baker, who has over 30 years of experience of Hotel Management. Complementing Baker will be Vice Presidents Jordi Pelfort, Antonio Gelabert and Antonio Herrera all of whom joined the company earlier this year from resort hotel companies and bring industry leading knowledge and experience to Blue Diamond.

"The launch of Blue Diamond Hotels and Resorts allows us to complete the vertical integration of the company" commented Stephen Hunter, President and CEO of Sunwing Travel Group, "prior to launching Sunwing, our family has been part of pioneering hotel projects in the Caribbean and built such brands such as Jack Tar Villages, Allegro Resorts and Reef Club Resorts, so in a way this is going full circle for us".

"We have ambitious growth plans for Blue Diamond Resorts with respect to quality, not quantity of hotels", added Hunter, "Our focus is concentrated on adding differentiated products which provides a customer experience that is currently not offered and complements our existing hotel partners".

Blue Diamond Hotels and Resorts, will have several consumer brands, each aimed at different segments of the market. The first such brand to be unveiled is "Royalton Luxury Resorts". The Royalton brand with its unique All-in Luxury concept is an upmarket five star brand, aimed at the sophisticated traveller and their families. Royalton offers a luxurious vacation with personalised service, and an unparalleled attention to detail. 

The five-star Royalton Panama Luxury Resort is the first property to be offered. This South Beach style hotel is located in the heart of the fast emerging Playa Blanca area on Panama's Pacific Coast, the property was recently built to exacting standards. The beachfront resort comprises of 230 Deluxe Rooms, one, two and three bedroom Suites, each with free WiFi, 32" flatscreen TV featuring premium channels, ipod docking stations, luxury amenities, a fully stocked mini-bar and tea and coffee making facilities. All of the 129 suites also feature a fully equipped modern kitchenette. With a variety of sumptuous speciality restaurants and a top class buffet, there's something to cater for every taste.

The Royalton Panama Luxury Resort is now open for guests. Sunwing vacation packages including Saturday flights from Toronto on Sunwing Airlines and roundtrip transfers are available from November 5th onwards, with Montreal flights available Saturday 17th December onwards.