Apple
Vacations purchased GWV Vacations, a Boston-based vacation packager
that specializes in Cancun, the Dominican Republic, Aruba, Antigua
and St. Maarten.
The acquisition will
be effective Dec. 18, when Apple will begin taking bookings for
travel from Dec. 23. The move will give Apple increased presence in
New England.
GWV is the biggest
[Caribbean operator] in New England, said Tim Mullen, Apples senior
vice president. Its a regional operator but has a significant
presence in Boston. Its a market Apple has had its eyes on for a
long time.
GWV Vacations will
continue to operate under the same name with an added tag line, an
Apple Vacations company.
Apple will keep key
salespeople in place, though there may be some synergies in the
back office, according to Mullen. From the travel agents
perspective, our objective is to keep everything the same: the
major policies and the faces of GWV that theyve grown to
know.
Mullen said Apple will
augment the GWV product line, which has primarily consisted of
charters with scheduled air options as well as ski and Europe
programs.
Well also be able to
leverage our hotel relationships and preferred rates to offer
better prices, Mullen said.
To contact reporter David
Cogswell, send e-mail to [email protected]