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Hotel Mopan was opened in May of 1973 by Jean U Shaw nee Weir J.P., M.B.E. and her husband Thomas Shaw. Jean was a Belizean born entrepeneur who would later become a pioneer in the Tourism Industry.
In fact, she was very instrumental in establishing Tourism as an Industry for Belize. Jean was also the founding President of the Belize Tourism Industry Association... (Excerpt from Speech by Minister of Tourism, Hon. Mark Espat given at the
Mid-Year General Meeting of the BTIA,2000) Click For Excerpt.
In early 2000, my brother and I  accepted a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Belize Tourism Board on her behalf. Her efforts were also honored by her being the recipient of the title of M.B.E. (Member of the British Empire) from the Queen of England. A title she was very
proud of.
Most recently at the Belize Tourism Board Annual General Meeting for 2007, it was announced that the new building for the Belize Tourism Board now located only a few buildings down from Hotel Mopan will be named in her honor. We are extremely proud of our mom, Jean U. Shaw nee Weir. Our mom passed away December 6th, 1999.
Thomas, our dad, who was born in Glasgow Scotland migrated to Belize working for Cable and Wireless and made Belize his home shortly thereafter. He worked on various projects around the country to help bring telephone services country wide and later helped to run Hotel Mopan until he branched off on his own once again. He also passed away May 5th, 2005
They had two children, Tomy and Jeannie... same names yes. :-)
 Our mom left us
the biggest job of having to fill her shoes - not to mention learning how to live
without her. There is so much history to our mom, that we could build a whole web site on her alone... We want you to know about her because when you come and visit us, we want you to appreciate
the history behind our Hotel... the years that have been put into its presence and the work that continues to be put here...
We like to think of Hotel Mopan as a home away from home for our guests. Actually,
some guests get so comfortable, they can sometimes be seen BEHIND the bar instead
of around it! :-)
My brother and I are the main streamline to the Hotel now and with the help of a
great staff, we have been able to create our own return guests. Some days we are in the forefront of the daily events and some days we are completely lost behind the back end work. Either way, the most rewarding
part is that we both get the opportunity to work hard in keeping our mom's legacy alive. We also get to contribute to the growth of our country and the ability to provide at least 8 permanent job opportunities to our fellow Belizeans, including ourselves. And, most importantly, we are able to provide a clean and comfortable place at a reasonable cost for others to call home when they visit Belize City.
We've learned from experience and our mom and we continue to learn and grow, make changes and move forward. We realize you have a choice when visiting
Belize and so we appreciate any business you bring or send our way. Everyone at Hotel Mopan tries his/her best to make your stay pleasant and comfortable. We are always open to new ideas and suggestions to improve on what we have.
Our aim is to make your visit to Belize a relaxing and fun one! Belize has so much to
offer you... we want to show you the best ways to enjoy as much of it as possible.
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