Courtesy of paradise-islands.org

It’s official. Sunwing Travel has completed the merger with Signature Vacations. The reality is that this merger will probably cost consumers who are looking for deals on sun destinations because it will result in less capacity in the market which will cause prices to go up. Of course, everyone is saying that nothing will change for now, but it surely will in the not too distant future when the consolidation begins in earnest.

Over the last five years Sunwing Travel’s revenues have increased from $30 million to $660 million. At the other end of the spectrum is Signature Vacations that lost $20 million in the first half of the current financial year. Obviously Sunwing will control the merged company. Sunwing expects to have a competitive advantage as a result of the merger, giving it more clout with suppliers in negotiations for better deals.

In addition to Sunwing Signature other players in the sun destination vacation market are Transat, Air Canada, and WestJet. The more players in the market, the better for the consumer. Competition drives prices down. All we can do now is wait and see how this merger will affect the prices of sun destination vacations. <-->