Transat's dream of building its own resorts is a step closer to realilty.

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 $70 million and $75 million to build a beachfront resort. The promissory agreement is subject to certain usual conditions and is anticipated to close on or around Nov. 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," he saiid.

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.