KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, is expressing deep sadness at the passing of Pablo Piñero, the president and founder of the Grupo Piñero company, which includes mega-hotel chain Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts.

The 76-year-old was fundamental in Grupo Piñero becoming one of the largest and most influential Spanish hotel chains in the world, with properties in Jamaica, Mexico, Dominican Republic and Spain. The company also manages more than five million hotel stays per year, has 26 four and five-star hotels totalling 11,000 rooms and employs around 10,000 people.

Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts opened in Runaway Bay, St Ann in 2007 and is now one of the largest hotels in Jamaica with an impressive room-count of over 1300. 

In a release today, the minister described Piñero as an outstanding entrepreneur and a global icon in the tourism and hospitality industry.

“On behalf of the Government of Jamaica, I offer my condolences to the family and friends of Pablo Piñero. The tourism industry across the globe has certainly suffered an extreme loss and I am sure I speak for all industry leaders across the globe, when I share how very grateful we are for the invaluable contribution he has made to the development of the sector,” he said.

The minister said Piñero “…was an exemplary gentleman whose passion and zeal for excellence in hospitality is unmatched”.

He hailed Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts for aiding job creation and strengthening the global appeal of Brand Jamaica.

“I am truly happy that his company invested so heavily in Jamaica,” Bartlett said.