Despite the heavy social and economic blows that the novel coronavirus pandemic has inflicted on Jamaica, Sandals Resorts International Executive Chairman Adam Stewart is still optimistic and bullish about the island’s ability to recover.

“I’m not a pessimist. I don’t believe COVID will last forever… we have some bumpy days ahead [but] this, too, shall pass,” Stewart told Nationwide Radio‘s owner, veteran journalist Cliff Hughes in an interview on his Cliff Hughes Online mid-morning talk show Wednesday.

Stewart, who was last month elevated to the leadership of the tourism, retail and media empire built by his father, Gordon “Butch” Stewart, over the past 50 years, said that the elder Stewart, who died on January 4 this year, had always maintained that the family businesses should contribute to the development of the Caribbean and its people.

Noting that the companies in the group are by no means immune to the effects of COVID-19, Stewart expressed confidence in the resilience of his team members.

“Hospitality has been hit, entertainment has been hit; I feel so sorry for those in the entertainment industry. What made Jamaica so magical for so many years has been our entertainment and entertainers, and their whole world has been put on pause without much of a plan,” said Stewart, who is also executive chairman of the Jamaica Observer.

He also noted that the pandemic has severely affected the ability of ground transport operators in the tourism industry to earn a living, as well as that of farmers who sell produce to the hotel sector.

“So many people have been displaced for no reason of their own, not for mismanagement of business… But we will get back. We’re going to have to keep fighting and be resilient, and we will get back to being the incredible nation that we are,” said Stewart.

He vowed to “do everything possible, with all of my resources”, to ensure that Jamaica maintains its place on the world stage, that the island recovers as quickly as possible, and “that we have much, much better days ahead of us than we did in 2020”.