Jumeirah Group, the hotel-management company that operates Dubai’s sail-shaped Burj Al Arab, has identified travelers from China as the fastest growing group of guests in its hotels, chairman Gerald Lawless said.

Chinese customers now represent about five percent of guests, up from less than one percent three years ago, Lawless said in an interview at the International Hotel Investment Forum in Berlin.

Jumeirah, the operator of luxury hotels and resorts owned by Dubai’s government, plans to open about nine hotels this year, including two in the Maldives. Properties will also be opened in Frankfurt, Shanghai, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait.