MONTREAL, Sept. 25, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - Transat A.T. Inc. announces that it has purchased land, and has entered into a promissory agreement to purchase a second adjacent property, in Puerto Morelos on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula for a total consideration of between US$54 and $57 million to build a beachfront resort. The promissory agreement is subject to certain usual conditions and is anticipated to close on or around November 1, 2018.

Located on the Riviera Maya, the village of Puerto Morelos is midway between Cancún and Playa del Carmen, some 20 kilometres from Cancún International Airport.

"We are very pleased with these transactions in a prominent Mexican tourism market," said Transat President and Chief Executive Officer Jean-Marc Eustache. "This is just the beginning: we are continuing our exploratory work with the objective of finding attractive land or hotels that we can acquire or manage. Our company's future growth will be built on hotel development and, obviously, the strength of our leisure travel business."

This is Transat's first step toward its previously announced goal of having 5,000 owned or managed hotel rooms at its main Sun destinations by 2024.

About Transat

Transat A.T. Inc. is a leading integrated international tourism company specializing in holiday travel. It offers vacation packages, hotel stays and air travel under the Transat and Air Transat brands to some 60 destinations in 26 countries in the Americas, Europe and the Middle East. Based in Montreal, the company has 5,000 employees. Transat is firmly committed to sustainable tourism development, as reflected in its multiple corporate responsibility initiatives over the past 10 years, and was awarded Travelife Partner status in 2016 (TSX: TRZ).

Recent distinctions and awards 2017–2018)

• Named world's second-best leisure airline and best in North America at the Skytrax World Airline Awards
• Ranked by Atmosfair among the world's Top 20 airlines for energy efficiency
• Voted Best Leisure/Charter Airline and Best Tour Operator at the Agents' Choice Awards presented by Baxter Travel Media
• Voted Best Airline and Best Tour Operator at the Trophées Uni-Vers awards organized by the Association des Agents de Voyages du Québec
• Rated among Canada's Best Employers and second-best airline on Forbes magazine's 2017 ranking
• Named one of the Best Corporate Citizens in Canada by Corporate Knights

SOURCE Transat A.T. Inc.