The JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai, continues to witness high demand from Saudi Arabia, according to newly released figures. From January to August 2014, the “world’s tallest hotel” saw an increase of 34 percent in room bookings and 38 percent in the total number of individual arrivals, compared to the same period in 2013.

Commenting on the influx of Saudi visitors to the hotel, Bill Keffer, GM for the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai, said: “The positive increase in demand reaffirms the property’s status as an iconic destination for both business and leisure travelers in a highly competitive market. Saudi Arabia is a key source market and according to Dubai Tourism Commerce Marketing (DTCM) Dubai hotels welcomed more than 5.8 million tourists in the first half of 2014 — the highest number of visitors ever achieved in the first six months of the year. Having grown our inventory by 86 percent since March has been highly beneficial to catering to this demand.”

At the start of the year, the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai offered a total of 804 rooms in tower one. The introduction of the second tower provided the hotel with the opportunity to phase in an additional 804 rooms bringing the total inventory to 1,608 once fully operational. Given the high number of suites and rooms planned, the second tower was planned to be released in three phases, with the final block of rooms being opened by Q4 of 2014.

The first of second tower rooms were released as planned in February. However, strong demand saw the inventory rise from 804 rooms to just over 1,100 instead of the planned 1,056 rooms. The continued rise in occupancy levels led to the opening of additional 258 rooms in April, bringing the total 1,358. As of June, the JW Marriott Marquis operates 1,500 rooms.