The domestic campaign is aimed at building market share in the face of Australia�s slump in inbound business, stagnant domestic leisure market and a dramatic increase in room supply.

In one campaign Accor is teaming with Sunlover Holidays and Harvey World Travel to promote six Novotel and Mercure hotels and resorts in Queensland�s key resort destinations - the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and  Cairns. The packages include return airfares and accommodation, and in some cases, bonus offers such as complimentary extra night stays, breakfasts and Qantas frequent flyer points. Bookings are through Harvey World Travel, valid till 18 September 1998.

In conjunction with Ansett Australia Holidays and Traveland, Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure and Ibis hotels in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Launceston and Perth are being offered via a range of �City Experiences� packages. Bookings are via Traveland and are valid till 18 September 1998.

Accor will team with Qantas Holidays for an outbound campaign, and both the domestic and international campaigns will be supported by a national advertising campaign in consumer media.

Commenting on the launch of the concerted partnership-based domestic leisure campaign, General Manager Sales & Marketing for Australia, Ray Stone, said that although Accor�s hotels and resorts had performed up to expectations so far in 1998, conditions were undoubtedly becoming tougher and required fresh initiatives to ensure the company�s hotels maintained their pre-eminent position.

�There is concern throughout the industry that demand is not keeping up with the burgeoning extra supply in virtually every city and resort destination in Australia,� said Stone.

�Competition in the leisure travel sector is intense, with Asian holidays very attractive and airfares to Europe at a historically low level, but with the lower Australian dollar and the excellent range of holiday packages we�ve been able to develop with our partners, we believe we can inject much needed �spark� into the local market.�

Accor Asia Pacific is Australia�s largest hotel group with 56 hotels and resorts across the country, under the Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure, Ibis and Formule 1 brands. In all, the company manages 134 hotels in the Asia Pacific region and is part of the global Accor hotel and tourism group.