Australia�s largest hotel group, Accor, announced that it will be the exclusive premium hotel sponsor for the �See Australia� campaign.

Accor has the most extensive network of hotels across Australia, with over 100 hotels and resorts in every State and Territory of Australia, under brands such as Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure, All Seasons and Ibis.

As part of Accor�s sponsorship, it has launched a comprehensive range of See Australia hotel specials to enable Australians to better afford holidaying in their own country. A wide range of popular Australian destinations and holiday experiences are included in the program, from beach holidays and city short-breaks through to special accommodation rates in regional and outback Australia.

�Accor wholeheartedly supports those objectives set by See Australia to ensure the future growth of our domestic travel and tourism industry,� said Accor Asia Pacific Chairman, David Baffsky.

�Australia has enjoyed the Olympic spotlight over the past months, with the world acknowledging Australia as one of the most desirable tourist destinations, now �See Australia� will help keep this momentum going, providing affordable holiday opportunities for local travellers.

�See Australia will have a number of benefits, but most importantly it will provide a significant boost to the tourism industry, which is not only one of the country�s most important income producers, but also the most important employment generator. In Australia alone, Accor employs 8,000 people, and if we can encourage Australians to spend more holidays discovering their own country, then even more young people will be able to build a career in the industry. �The Premium Sponsorship complements Accor�s domestic strategy perfectly. The domestic market plays a significant role in our overall business, and we see potential to build the leisure market by offering more innovative holiday options. One of them is the Accor Premiere Vacations Club, a 21st century version of timeshare, that complements our traditional hotel business.�

Graham Perry, CEO of See Australia, commented: �Accor is the leader in their sector and their support will greatly boost our ability to develop a successful and widespread initiative to encourage Australians to travel within Australia.�

Accor is the world�s largest hotel and tourism company, operating in a total of 140 countries. The global group is a leader in travel, tourism and corporate services with two major international activities:

- hotels: 3,400 hotels (370,000 rooms) in 90 countries, including over 100 hotels in Australia under brands such as Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure, All Seasons, Ibis & Formule 1

- services: each day, over 11 million people in 30 countries use a broad range of services (vouchers and cards, online services) developed, issued and managed by Accor on behalf of corporate clients and public authorities.