CULTURE
JW Marriott Marquis Dubai Cheduled to Open in Q4 2012
Baku, February 15 (AZERTAC). A symbol of Dubai`s resurgence and its growing importance at the centre of the global business crossroads will emerge later this year when the 1,608-room JW Marriott Marquis Dubai opens its doors to guests in Q4 this year. A stunning addition to Marriott International`s JW Marriott world-class luxury hotel brand, the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai will open in two phases, with the first section featuring 807 rooms and numerous restaurants and lounges. At a height of 355 meters (1,164 feet), the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai is the tallest dedicated hotel building in the world and is just 26 meters (85 feet) shorter than the Empire State Building in New York. In addition to serving the luxury business traveler, the hotel is targeting the lucrative and increasingly important MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) market, which currently does not have a hotel of sufficient scale to host such large groups. In addition to all the dining and entertainment options, the hotel will have two ballrooms, 24 meeting rooms and a total of 5,100 square meters (54,895 square feet) of event space. To give this market some context, the United States` MICE segment, which will be one of the key targets of the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai team, contributes $106 billion to that country`s GDP – higher than automotive manufacturing ($78 billion), performing arts/spectator sports/museums ($71 billion) and information and data processing services ($76 billion). Dubai`s excellent air service, especially with the emerging BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economies, are expected to create further opportunity. Nasser Saidi, chief economist for the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), has already noted the growth in Chinese firms coming to Dubai to set up a hub to access the African markets, and China is becoming an increasingly important export partner for the UAE. In the first quarter of 2011, for example, China exported AED10.68bn worth of goods to Dubai and was the emirate`s second biggest export partner during that period.