 St. Lucia and the wider region are paying glowing tributes to the late Gordon Butch Stewart, who died this week. The founder of Sanders Resorts International established three of its 15 all-inclusive luxury Caribbean resorts in St. Lucia, employing some 2,000 island residents. Tourism officials hail him for his significant contribution to the vital sector. More in this report. Gordon Butch Stewart, the man behind the largest contribution to St. Lucia's tourism industry from the private sector, has passed on. The all-inclusive resort pioneer and founder of Sanders Resorts International died on January 4th, 2021, at age 79. Prime Minister Alan Chastney eulogized Stewart as a visionary, recalling the impact of the hotelier's business on island, beginning with Sanders Regency. He came in and he did the most remarkable job of transforming Sanders Latok, which really was a hotel that was a beautiful hotel, but was always under-delivered. I mean, if it had a 30% or 40% occupancy, that was a lot. And Mr. Stewart transformed this completely and put St. Lucia on the map. You know, prior to Sanders coming to St. Lucia, you would spend 15 minutes trying to explain to people where St. Lucia was. Afterwards, you would go to Chicago, to Charlotte and all these cities, and all of a sudden, because there was a Sanders in St. Lucia, people knew where St. Lucia was. The island's tourism minister, Honorable Dominic Fede, hailed Stewart a legend who will be genuinely missed. The world has seen Caribbean tourism in a way that Mr. Stewart has made such a significant difference. And, you know, I'm always very proud whenever I travel in global forums, and I see that a homegrown Caribbean company is the world's leading all-inclusive company. It's a source of inspiration for me, and it tells us what we can do in these islands if we believe and we have the courage to fight to get what we want. And he will be thoroughly missed, very strong leader. Recognizing the trailblazing efforts displayed by Stewart in the local sector for almost three decades, the St. Lucia Hospitality and Tourism Association president, Carolyn Trebettscoy, also offered tribute saying, quote, we have lost one of our most revered and respected Caribbean tourism icons. Gordon Butch Stewart was a pioneer and a perfectionist of an all-inclusive Caribbean hospitality model that other brands could never copy or come close to. The success of the brand over several decades speaks for itself. We must also thank him for his mentorship of and the countless career opportunities he created for Caribbean nationals surpassed only by his considerable philanthropic work through the Sandals Foundation, end quote. Sandals Resorts employs approximately 2,000 individuals on island at four properties. Sandals Grand St. Lucia Spa and Beach Resort, Sandals Halcyon Beach Resort, Sandals Regency Golf Resort and Spa, and the Sandals Golf and Country Club. Mrs. Stewart has no doubt contributed significantly to the development of tourism in St. Lucia. He's been here since 1990, and he operated some 800 rooms across three magnificent resorts. There's about 2,000 people and create business opportunities for hundreds of small, medium and large businesses. On the regional front, the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States Commission also described Stewart as a visionary and stated that his brands gave prominence to the Caribbean with its, quote, extensive international marketing and the extraordinarily high standards of hospitality and customer satisfaction that he defined, end quote. In Miami, acting CEO and Director General of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, Vanessa Ledesma said, quote, our industry will forever be indebted to Butch for his continued passion for excellence and legendary Caribbean hospitality. His vision has bestowed to the global industry a Caribbean organization that adheres to the highest standards of excellence, celebrates and promotes the region's uniqueness and invests in the development of our people and communities, end quote. Prior to his death, Stewart was reportedly working on resort chain expansions in St. Vincent and Curacao. He is survived by his wife, seven children, 12 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. For the Government Information Service, I am Jesse Leance reporting.