Mark Adams
President of Air Jamaica Vacations
Mark Adams is president of Air Jamaica Vacations, Air Jamaica's in-house vacation division and the leading U.S. tour operator to the Caribbean. Mr. Adams directs all operating, financial and marketing activities for Air Jamaica Vacations as well as for Barbados Vacations, St. Lucia Vacations, Antigua Vacations, Curaçao Vacations, Grenada Vacations and Island Vacations.
Mr. Adams' dynamic track record caught the eye of tourism mogul, Gordon "Butch" Stewart, Chairman of Sandals Resorts and Air Jamaica. In 1994, Mr. Stewart asked the young entrepreneur to revitalize Air Jamaica's then dormant vacation wholesale operations. Mr. Adams quickly embarked on the challenge to take then named Jamaica Air Tours to the forefront of the Caribbean travel business.
Operating from a small desk in the corner of Air Jamaica's reservations department in 1995, Air Jamaica Vacations began selling vacation packages to Jamaica. By end of 1995 the vacation wholesaler moved over 12,000 passengers to Jamaica and reported $31.5 million in vacation sales; a dramatic increase of over 455% from Jamaica Air Tour's 1994 banner year. Today, Air Jamaica Vacations has amassed over $160 million in revenue for 2002.
Under Mr. Adams' innovative leadership, Air Jamaica Vacations has steadily outperformed targeted goals year after year. The success of the company can be attributed to its focus on marketing the destinations and hotels Air Jamaica Vacation serves, as well as its commitment to delivering quality customer service.
Mr. Adams enjoys the results of a stellar career in the leisure travel business. His career in the travel industry began in 1977 at Funtastic Tours where he worked in the documents department collating passengers' tickets. Mr. Adams soon became Vice President of Operations at Funtastic where he distinguished himself as an avid businessman. While at Funtastic Mr. Adams is credited with moving over 100,000 passengers to Mexico, Jamaica, Bahamas, Aruba and the Dominica Republic, resulting in over $100 million in vacation sales.
In 1986, Mr. Adams relocated to Atlanta and launched Club America Vacations, a wholesale operation specializing in travel to Mexico and the Caribbean. In just seven short years Club America Vacations grew from a fledgling travel business to become the world's largest wholesaler selling Cancun, tallying in excess of $130 million in revenue to the destination.
A consummate marketer, Mr. Adams instituted Air Jamaica Vacations' award winning full color, dedicated island brochures for each Caribbean destination and a travel agent loyalty-marketing program to entice agents to book their clients with Air Jamaica's vacation division. Further, Mr. Adams revamped the company's operation with knowledgeable island specialists in reservations, 24-hour on-island customer service, and exclusive bonus inclusions for clients to use during their vacation. Today, Air Jamaica Vacations has evolved into a major Caribbean vacation wholesaler and has surpassed industry stalwarts to be the number one U.S. tour operator to Jamaica.
Pointing to his team of over 200 employees many of whom call the Caribbean home, Mr. Adams credits his success and that of Air Jamaica Vacations to the people that surround him. According to Mr. Adams "Their passion and conviction to being the best in the business and to growing Caribbean tourism are why we can proudly say we are 'The Finest Vacation Service in the World.' We are constantly raising the bar to exceed our clients expectations."
Air Jamaica Vacations offers air and hotel packages for over 190 hotels and resorts in 11 Caribbean destinations including Jamaica, Antigua, Barbados, Belize, Bonaire, Curaçao, Grand Cayman, Grenada, Nassau, St. Lucia and Turks & Caicos.
| Contact: | Marcia McLaughlin |
|---|---|
| Telephone: | 305-670-1177, ext. 8220 |
| Fax: | 305-663-8272 |
| Email: | mmclaughlin@airjamaicavacations.com |
| Website: | www.airjamaicavacations.com |