In the 27 years of Sandals' existence, globe-trotting Chairman Gordon 'Butch' Stewart - he is not quite sure of the reason himself - had never visited Calgary, Alberta or Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada, from where he gets a good deal of his hotel guests.

Recently, he decided to correct this anomaly, turned up in Calgary and Vancouver - after visiting Toronto - and was mobbed by travel agents and tour operators hungry to meet the man who had built the brand many of them had made millions of dollars and a decent living selling.

Butch Stewart and son Adam give these members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police their wish by posing for this picture against the backdrop of a Sandals/Beaches promotional vehicle outside the Delta Chelsea Hotel in Toronto, Canada.

Butch is not going to forget Calgary in a hurry. He enters a packed-to-capacity room at the upscale Westin Calgary hotel where he and son, Adam Stewart are the main hosts at dinner, the room jumps to its feet and the agents are all over him. It was Butch Stewart superstar and it was something to behold.

The reception was typical of every stop on the three-city tour that was symbolically meant to recognise Canada for being the fastest growing market for guests of Sandals and Beaches, the Caribbean-based world leading resort chain.

"That's how they greet him everywhere he goes in North America," said Kevin Froemming, president of Unique Vacations, the worldwide representative of Sandals/Beaches.

Added Gary Sadler, Unique Vacations' Canada vice-president: "What you are seeing is how hungry the travel industry has been to meet and greet Butch Stewart. He is a phenomenon here as everywhere else."

In speech after speech and interview after interview, the father and son duo thanked the Canadians for making their resort number one, based on votes tallied by Ivy Baxter's highly credible CanadianTravel Press.

Baxter's syndicate of publications recently asked Canadian travel agents to select the most environmentally friendly resort and they chose Sandals/Beaches by far, significant because they beat out all of North America's top hotels like Fairmont, Hilton and Ritz-Carlton.

Stewart, voted the 'King of Vacations' by America's Reader's Digest, said Canada now comprised 30 per cent of guests to Sandals/Beaches, making that country the fastest growing segment of the resort's market,

"I am here because I need to say to Canada that Sandals is grateful that you chose us to share what is always a very important time in the lives of families. We regard this as a tremendous vote of confidence in our brand and we are stimulated to keep striving for greater quality," Stewart said after receiving the environmental award from Baxter herself in Toronto.

"We have a responsibility to take care of our world, of our Caribbean. Winning awards like these gives us the drive and enthusiasm to strive to do better all the time," he added.

He picked up three other awards from Canadian Travel Press - Favourite All-Inclusive; Favourite Hotel and Best Hotel Group.

In Calgary, he grabbed another sought-after award - from Westjet airlines, which chose Sandals Grande Ocho Rios as its 'Best Value Resort in the Caribbean'. Calgary-based Westjet is Canada's leading low-cost airline.
"Our value awards mean that a product that is selected over-delivers, giving more benefits than the actual cost of the vacation," said Gary Davies, publisher of Westjet's magazine.

Denise Sterling, product buyer for Westjet Vacations described the Sandals experience as "truly amazing and unlike any other brand we buy".
Owner of Affordable Travel, Hazel Affonso, told Stewart that other resort owners did not take the time to visit Calgary, and commended him and Adam, the Sandals CEO.

"Thirteen years ago, Gary Sadler came to my office. He kept coming back again and again. He hosted workshops. At the time I thought Sandals would be a hard sell. Now I can say that Sandals loves travel agents," said Affonso, who disclosed that this year she had sold 90 bookings and had made over $1 million selling Sandals/Beaches.

Gloria Taylor also made over a million dollars selling Sandals. She has been with the chain for all of its existence. "I thank Mr Stewart for giving me this opportunity," she told the dinner.

Stewart was able to get his message sent across Canada through an interview he and Adam did on the Business News Network television which is watched by five million Canadians. The duo did another half-dozen interviews with the country's most influential travel publications.

Asked by one interviewer about the youthfulness of his 27-year-old CEO son, Stewart betrayed a moment of paternal pride: "Adam is a natural. He has a talent for implementing everything faster than anyone I have seen and provide the accountability. He is good with the technology and he has tremendous instincts."

He told a television host that his "best salesman" was his guest who was satisfied. "After 9/11, hotels everywhere were empty. But Sandals enjoyed 85 per cent occupancy, because of the confidence people have in our brand," said Stewart.

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