The Bahia resorts in Jamaica and the Dominican Republic will benefit from a US$200 million investment to facilitate its reopening and start-up through a strategic partnership between Grupo Piñero, the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) private sector branch, IDB Invest, and the Banco Popular Dominicano.
The IDB will provide 120 million dollars (105 million euros) to Grupo Piñero, which owns Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts. In comparison, Banco Popular will loan 80 million dollars (70 million euros) to the international tourism giant.
The investment seeks to provide a financial cushion for the resort while simultaneously facilitating the sustainable revitalization of the tourism sectors in both countries impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bartlett says Bahia investment will yield positive results
Speaking at the launch in Madrid, Spain, Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s tourism minister, shared that tourism functions as one of the surest ways to return money to the poor and help local economies grow.
“Tourism is the world’s fastest and most immediate convertible economic activity. Therefore, this particular action today is so critical to the development of the Caribbean and the world. Here, a statement is being made about how we create debt rearrangement and the financial infusion to enable faster recovery. That fast recovery must not be irresponsible, and that’s why the elements that deal with sustainability and resilience are so important,” said Bartlett.
The tourism minister also highlighted the importance of such a strategic relationship in the efficient recovery and boosting the tourism sector’s competitiveness, which he says will yield positive returns.
“I congratulate all the teams who are involved in this program today. The recovery of tourism is going to be predicated on strong business responses — private-public partnerships that will enable sustainability,” he said.
Meanwhile, Grupo Pinero, which has 27 hotels in the Caribbean and Mexico, shared that the investment will assist in evaluating the impact of climate change on their properties and design projects that seek to restore mangroves and corals and protect coastal areas.
Ultimately, the investment should satisfy four of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8), Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12), Climate Action (SDG 13), and Partnerships to Achieve the Goals (SDG 17).
