Dubai will make a major play for the international MICE market with the opening of the 1,608-room JW Marriott Marquis hotel in October, the emirate's first large-scale convention facility.
The world's tallest dedicated hotel, built in partnership with Emirates, will cater to events of more than 1000 people with more than 5,000 square metres of event space.
General manager Rupprecht Queitsch said the new property filled a gap in the market and would not compete with local hotels. Instead he identified competitors as Paris, New York and other major global cities with established convention facilities.
He highlighted the U.S MICE segment, which contributes $106 billion to US GDP, as a key target, with the hotel hoping to leverage off the well-known brand name, and databases. The new property will be Marriott's largest hotel outside the US.
Queitsch was confident Dubai's central location would make it an attractive proposition for planners worldwide.
"One third of the world lives within five and a half hours of Dubai – it would be shame on us if we couldn't tap into that," he said, adding that the property had already secured a 700 room booking for five nights in January 2013.
"That business previously wouldn't have come to Dubai," he claimed. "The new hotel is good for the city and good for the brand."
The property will work closely with the Dubai Convention Bureau to create awareness of the new facilities.
