MONTREAL — Transat A.T. Inc. has signed a deal to sell its Jonview Canada tour business to Japanese travel company H.I.S. Co. Ltd. for $44 million.

Jonview Canada, the country’s leading incoming tour operator, sells tour packages for international visitors to Canada. The company employs 180 people in Toronto and Montreal, along with 120 seasonal guides, and brings in approximately 300,000 international visitors to Canada annually.

The sale is subject to the approval of the Competition Bureau of Canada, and is expected to close on or around Nov. 30. The price will be adjusted at closing.

According to Transat’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Jean-Marc Eustache, the sale is part of the company’s strategic refocusing around its leisure travel operations in Canada and development of its hotel division. “The sale of our Canadian incoming tour operator business will accelerate development of those key sectors,” he said.

Hideo Hatano, Executive Officer, Global Business Development Division, H.I.S. Co. Ltd., added: “The acquisition of Jonview Canada is in keeping with our ambitious expansion plan in North America, and bodes well for the development of this leading incoming tour operator, which has become a reference for Canada as a travel destination.”