TORONTO — As people often say, it’s either go big or go home. And judging from the success of Thomas Cook Canada’s recent ‘Big 4’ product launch in Toronto, the company certainly took this to heart and pulled out all the stops.

With the theme of ‘We Bring You the World’, the Big 4 made its Toronto stop on Aug. 22 at the International Centre before moving on to Montreal on Aug. 23, Calgary on Aug. 24 and finally Vancouver on Aug. 25. Agents were able to meet one-on-one with Thomas Cook’s many supplier partners, including hoteliers, tourist boards, car rental companies, cruise lines and airlines, as well as learn about new products being offered this winter for each of the company’s brands: Sunquest, ALBATours, Holiday House, Fun Sun Vacations, Network, Intair, Intair Vacations, Encore Cruises, Exotic Tours and Boomerang Tours.

Big news coming out of the launch this year includes Sunquest’s 40th anniversary, which is being commemorated with new destinations and flights. The brand is now offering one flight per week from Toronto to Cartagena, Colombia, with several resorts to choose from including the Hotel Caribe and the Occidental Grand Cartagena. Packages start at $999 per person.

Also new this winter is direct service from Toronto to Fort Lauderdale starting Dec. 17 on Thomas Cook Canada, which it will operate in partnership with sister company Encore Cruises. Sunquest is also featuring car rentals with every package. Air only rates start at $199 plus tax, per person.

An expanded flying schedule will include Thomas Cook Canada flights out of Calgary and Vancouver with direct flights to Punta Cana, Jamaica and Cozumel (out of Calgary only). New for 2012 is a program to Jamaica out of Thunder Bay, which kicks off on Nov. 5, 2011 and runs until April 21, 2012. Flights will be operated by WestJet.

This winter will also see a variety of Special Interest Weeks from Sunquest, available through its exclusive Club Diamond resorts. Travellers can choose from Soccer weeks with instruction from GT Soccer, Golf weeks conducted by a Canadian PGA pro, fitness weeks with classes by Extreme Fitness, and Celebrity Chef weeks featuring David Adjey and more.

Over at Encore Cruises, a brand new call centre has been unveiled in Quebec City, while Fun Sun Vacations, together with sister company Holiday House, recently launched their popular Hawaii brochure featuring such perennial favourites as Outrigger/Ohana, Starwood, Hilton, Hyatt and Aston resorts. One property to look out for is Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina, which opens its doors for the first time on Aug. 29, 2011.

Come this September, Intair, Network and Fun Sun will be unveiling a brand new air booking engine featuring a number of new enhancements. Agents can expect a new summary tool that allows them to see what’s already confirmed and available; view unpaired itineraries; check for detailed flight information; and access itinerary filters.

But what Thomas Cook Canada is really excited about is its brand new, all-in-one agent website. Having all its brands on one site now allows agents to quickly and easily compare pricing as well as check their Thomas Cook Loyalty Points balance.

“We done away with our multiple agent sites with the many different sign-ins and passwords and instead we have created one site that does it all,” said Flemming Friisdahl, vice president of sales, Thomas Cook Canada. “Now agents will need just one username and password to remember to access the worlds of [all our brands]. Even if they move agencies, their sign-in information remains the same.”

To access the new site or for more information on Thomas Cook Canada and its brands, visit www.thomascookagent.ca to set up a profile.