Lopesan, a major international hotel group with over 17,000 hotel rooms across Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean, has eyes for Jamaica, telling the country’ tourism minister at World Travel Market in London last week that it is urgently seeking to develop a 1,000-room luxury resort on the island.

Jamaican tourism minister Edmund Bartlett said the development would generate over 2,500 direct and indirect jobs, and positively impact scores of farmers, manufacturers, small businesses, and other stakeholders.

The news comes as the Jamaica’s tourism sector prepares for the official opening of the recently renovated US$30-million Royalton White Sands resort in Trelawny next month. The sector is also preparing for the openings of two major resorts before summer next year – the first phase 1,000 rooms of the new Princess Resort in Hanover and the over 753-room new RIU Palace Aquarelle resort in Trelawny, creating around 2,500 new jobs.