Janet Silvera, Senior Tourism Writer

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller (third left) is assisted by Isabel García (second left), wife of owner of the Gran Bahía Príncipe Hotel, in cutting the ribbon to officially open the St. Ann property. Sharing in the occasion are (from left) Spanish Ambassador, Jesús Silva; Pablo Piñero (owner); former Prime Ministers P.J. Patterson and Edward Seaga; and, Chairman of the Jamaica Tourist Board, Dennis Morrison. - Photo by Janet Silvera

WESTERN BUREAU:

Confident that the modern Spanish/Jamaican encounter will continue to play a vital role in the island's tourism development, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller officially opened the country's newest resort Gran Bahía Príncipe Hotel, in Pear Tree Bottom, St. Ann, yesterday.

The first investment for the Piñero Group in the English-speaking Caribbean, the 600-room British Colonial-styled resort, which welcomed its first visitors on December 24, is currently running at a 90 per cent occupancy level after only four weeks.

This is the first of three phases, which will see the resort constructing 1,800 rooms on completion.

tourism growth

This brings to 2,500 the total number of new hotel rooms built during the past three years. Government's accelerated plan is to facilitate the building of 10,000 new hotel rooms over the next five years. The official opening of the Gran Bahía Príncipe Hotel comes on the heels of a 15 per cent growth in the tourism sector last year over the previous period, and the welcoming of the island's three millionth visitor last year. The sector plans to reach the five millionth visitor mark by 2012.

critical role

Recognising the critical role of foreign direct investment in meeting the objectives of the Tourism Master Plan, the Prime Minister lauded the international partners, whom she said will help to meet the island's requirement for broader product offerings, market diversification and accelerated growth of the industry.

"The Gran Bahía Príncipe Jamaica is being opened at an exciting time in Jamaica's tourism," she noted.

"The current rate of investment and expansion in hotel room stock for Jamaica's tourist industry is unprecedented. It is a time when the country is quickly developing a tourism product which can build on its traditional strengths of sun, sand and sea, to more completely incorporate the island's rich built cultural and sporting heritage.

The Prime Minister used the opportunity to pay tribute to the hotel's owner Pablo Piñero; her predecessor Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, who officially broke ground for the resort little over a year ago; and the seven other Spanish companies that have invested in Jamaica.

Heartened by the overwhelming support from the Jamaican community, owner of the resort Pablo Piñero, spoke of the record time achieved in constructing the resort, "We have never before been able to achieve that," he said proudly, adding that as a result of the new resort, 3,000 Jamaicans, 620 of them women, were employed temporarily for a year, and since the completion 1,000 hospitality workers (650 of then women) have found full-time employment. "These 1,000 people have better quality of life now," Mr. Piñero stated.

Dogged by a series of calamities, the resort became famous after Jamaican environmentalists took the owners to court which revoked their environmental permit tourism product which can build on its traditional strengths of sun, sand and sea, to more completely incorporate the island's rich cultural and sporting heritage.

The Prime Minister used the opportunity to pay tribute to the hotel's owner, Pablo Piñero; her predecessor Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, who officially broke ground for the resort little over a year ago; and, the seven other Spanish companies that have invested in Jamaica.

Heartened by the overwhelming support from the Jamaican community, owner of the resort, Pablo Piñero, spoke of the record time achieved in constructing the resort, "We have never before been able to achieve that," he said proudly, adding that as a result of the new resort, 3,000 Jamaicans, 620 of them women were employed temporarily for a year, and since the completion, 1,000 hospitality workers (650 of them women) have found full-time employment. "These 1,000 people have better quality of life now," Mr. Piñero stated.