Accenture to Sponsor World Travel & Tourism Council's Tourism Satellite Accounting Research; World Travel & Tourism Council to Extend and Deepen Global Research in Association with Accenture.

LONDON -- Accenture (NYSE: ACN) will become the global sponsor of the World Travel & Tourism Council's (WTTC) Tourism Satellite Accounting (TSA) research for a three-year term.

The TSA research is the principal tool used by the WTTC to educate policy and business leaders about the travel and tourism industry's economic strength and importance. The TSA research, produced for 174 countries, is the pre-eminent source of data about and forecasts for the industry. The research is distributed directly to government officials, CEOs, industry leaders and researchers to study the economics of the industry.

Accenture's sponsorship will help WTTC expand the reach of the research as well as determine what the findings mean for the tourism industries of specific countries and regions. As part of its sponsorship, Accenture will analyze the TSA research results in countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, China, India and the United States and provide written points of view about how companies in the travel industry can improve performance through technology, customer insight and innovation.

WTTC President Jean-Claude Baumgarten said, "Joining forces with Accenture will allow WTTC to take this vital industry research to the next level and provide even greater information for policy and business decision makers. Tourism Satellite Accounting is the key to understanding our industry's opportunities and challenges and puts us firmly on the radar screen of business leaders and government officials as they plan and organize their resources for economic development and job creation. Joining forces with Accenture will allow the WTTC to dig deeper into the facts and figures, offer analysis and insight, and extend the reach of the results and forecasts."

"Having insight into the tourism industry, its growth patterns and important trends is critical for companies that want to improve their performance," said Alex Christou, managing director of Accenture's Transportation & Travel Services practice. "The Tourism Satellite Accounting is vital to the industry and can help companies around the world make sound decisions about growth, technology and innovation. As Accenture works with companies in the airline, hotel and transportation sectors, WTTC's data are important aspects of our industry analysis."

As part of Accenture's three-year sponsorship, Mr. Christou will join the WTTC Executive Committee and play a key role at events such as the TSA Research launch in Berlin in March and the WTTC's Global Travel & Tourism Summit in Washington, DC, in April. WTTC also plans to extend its TSA communications effort with Accenture by convening a series of regional and national events to announce and debate the TSA findings around the world.

About Accenture

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. Committed to delivering innovation, Accenture collaborates with its clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. With deep industry and business process expertise, broad global resources and a proven track record, Accenture can mobilize the right people, skills and technologies to help clients improve their performance. With more than 126,000 people in 48 countries, the company generated net revenues of US$15.55 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2005. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

About the World Travel & Tourism Council

WTTC is a membership organisation representing the leaders of the global Travel & Tourism industry. It is a forum for global business leaders comprising presidents, chairs and CEOs of around one hundred of the world's foremost companies. It is the only body representing the private sector in all parts of the Travel & Tourism industry worldwide.

WTTC's mission is to raise awareness of the full economic impact of Travel & Tourism, the world's largest generator of wealth and employment, which accounts for 200 million jobs and over 10 per cent of global GDP.

Governments are encouraged to unlock the industry's potential by adopting the Blueprint for New Tourism, WTTC's policy framework for sustainable tourism development. For background information on the WTTC, please go to www.wttc.org (http://www.wttc.org/).