PHUKET, 24 March, 2010 �The Accor Race to Survive Phuket 2010 participants are throwing their heart and soul into the event, creating drama and humour in equal doses during the first three action packed days of the four day race.

Many racers were worst for wear and tear from the scorching hot weather and challenging event course in Phuket, but all remained highly motivated to complete the event to improve the social well being of Thai children.

Racers received early wake up calls both mornings, first by a solo saxophone player Tuesday morning, then by a torrential pre-dawn downpour early Wednesday that sent humidity levels soaring.

While sore and sunburned there were no serious injuries, and everyone remained determined to push through to the final day.

Accor�s Director of Operations for Thailand and Event Director, Paul Stevens praised the participants for toughing it out in very demanding conditions.

�It�s shaping up to be a very exciting conclusion to Race to Survive Phuket. We are delighted that everyone is still safe and sound � especially since we had a couple collisions on the bike and canoe segments.

�Tonight the racers will meet the children of a Muslim fishing village on Koh Lon off Cape Panwa in Phuket, that will benefit from their fund raising efforts. It will give them an up close and personal view of how the children live, and more importantly what it really means to help those who need it most.

�This is really what the Accor Race to Survive and Yim Kids Thailand is all about. I can�t tell you how proud I am of everyone involved and how important their tremendous efforts are to this very worthy cause,� Mr Stevens added.

Companies or individuals who would like to contribute to either the �Accor Race to Survive Phuket 2010�or the Yim Kids Foundation can do so by logging on to www.yimkids.com

Note to editors: A final update on the event and fundraising total will be provided on Friday March 26. Many images are available of the event on request.

Accor Race to Survive � Phuket, Thailand

Accor Race to Survive is an established, dynamic fund-raising event to raise funds through sponsorship of teams that are made up of Accor employees and friends. Over the course of four days - March 22 - 25, 2010 - teams from all corners of the globe will travel to Phuket and will push their bodies and minds to the limit, completing strenuous daily combinations of swimming, mountain biking, kayaking and running, while camping at night on Lon Island (Koh Lon), a small isolated island southeast of Phuket. Many of the team members participating in the race are hoteliers, not professional athletes, but all are training hard and truly committed to the fund-raising event.

Each team is required to raise a minimum of US$7,000 as their entry fee and donate their time and energy to participate in this significant fund-raising event, bringing attention to the cause and showcasing Thailand as a world-class tourist destination.

As well as team fundraising and public support the success of Accor�s Race to Survive for Yim Kids is reliant on the sponsorship and generosity of corporate sponsors. Gold sponsors of the event are: Accor Asia Pacific, Ecolab, HotelTravel.com, King Power Group, Syntec and V Australia.

Yim Kids Foundation projects

Through the Yim Kids Foundation, Accor is creating sustainable, incremental and prudent improvements to the social well being of children. The funds raised will support four projects, each selected and planned carefully, ensuring sustainability and that it will reach out to assist those children that really need a helping hand:

1. Support the cost for children�s education in the Mercy Centre�s Bangkok slum school. There are around 300 children at the school and the cost for each child to receive a proper education is approximately US$57 per child per year. 2. Support the health and medical-related cost for 63 orphaned and abandoned children with HIV/Aids at the Mercy Centre. 3. Assist communities in Koh Lon by expanding their sustainable fishing program to improve their livelihoods, enabling the children from these communities to continue their secondary-level education in Phuket. 4. Provide education funds to help the children of sea gypsies and rubber tree tappers in Phuket whose livelihoods and way of life have been affected by the Tsunami in 2004.

Yim Kids Foundation and Accor employees, business partners and friends have pledged full commitment to put smiles back on the faces of these children. To succeed, Accor needs help. Please visit www.yimkids.com to learn more about how you can contribute and be part of these projects and more as funding allows to help bring lifelong smiles to these very special children in need.

Contacts; Evan Lewis, Accor Asia Pacific, evan.LEWIS@accor.com, (65) 6408-8840, (65) 9853-2441 Vasu Thirasak, Accor (Thailand), vasu.THIRASAK@accor.com, (66) 2659-4620, (66) 2264-5747 Tom Racette � Embedded Correspondent � Accor Yim Kids Race to Survive Phuket 2010 � Hoteltravel.com email: tom.r@hoteltravel.com