Tourism icon Louis Grant passes
Published:Tuesday | March 7, 2023 | 1:10 AMCarl Gilchrist/Gleaner Writer
Louis Grant, whose tenure as general manager at several Jamaican hotels during his more than five decades in the tourism sector, has been hailed as a pioneer in the sector in the wake of his passing.
Grant, 86, reportedly died at his home in St Ann on Sunday.
Speaking with The Gleaner on Sunday, Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) area chair, Vana Taylor, hailed Grant as “an icon who served the tourism industry for over 50 years”.
“He was a pioneer of the tourism sector,” Taylor said, adding that he “worked in many, many, major properties” and was with the Sandals Group up to a few years ago when he retired.
“He was certainly an example for a lot of us in the industry and mentored so many over the years as well. He really was a tourism giant; did so much for the community at large,” Taylor said.
Adam Stewart, executive chairman of Sandals Resorts International, where Grant spent over two decades managing properties for the brand, described Grant as a true company stalwart and a friend of the Sandals family.
“He will always be remembered as a general manager ahead of his time. During his tenure, ‘LG’, as we fondly referred to him, was synonymous with the excellence for which Sandals Dunn’s River, where he was general manager for decades, was known,” Stewart said.
Grant started his career in the 1950s at the pioneering Couples Tower Isle hotel in St Mary as a bar cashier before moving through the ranks, including stints with the Jamaica Tourist Board in the United States and here in Jamaica, to cap his career as an outstanding general manager.
As general manager at Trelawny Beach Hotel back in the 1970s, which was at the time operated by the Government under the umbrella of National Hotel and Properties, Grant earned the trust and love of his team.
There, he laid the foundation for a successful tenure before moving on to Sandals Resorts.
In 2007, Grant was named JHTA Hotelier of the Year and was also the JHTA Lifetime Achievement awardee in 2018.
He was also honoured by the Government with the Order of Distinction for his work in the tourism sector.