Gerard Blitz; Founder Of Club Med

PARIS - Gerard Blitz, founder of the Club Mediterranee empire of vacation villages billed as an ``antidote to civilization,'' has died in a Paris hospital, company officials said yesterday. He was 78.

Blitz died Saturday night at Cochin Hospital after an undisclosed illness, the officials said.

A Belgian-born diamond-cutter by trade, Blitz created Club Med in 1950 as a nonprofit association and led the first group of vacationers to a tent village in Spain's Balearic Islands.

Club Med villages progressed from tents to straw huts to modern hotel facilities, prospering with a formula of prepaid, no-tipping vacations in which clients pay with colored beads for the few extras such as souvenirs or bar drinks.

With its image of sun, sand and relaxation, Club Med grew into one of the world's largest tourism groups, with more than 87,000 beds in its resorts.

Much of the credit for the growth went to Gilbert Trigano, who supplied tents for Club Med in the early years, joined the company in 1954 and succeeded Blitz as president in 1963. Blitz remained honorary president until his death and continued to participate in the company's planning sessions.

``He was an extraordinary man who had an immense understanding of life,'' Trigano said yesterday. ``He was a man of happiness.''

Blitz was married twice, first to Denise Libbrecht and then to Claudine Coindeau. He had four sons and a daughter.