A British charity fundraiser was appointed caretaker of a tropical island on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef today, beating more than 34,000 applicants for what’s billed as the “best job in the world.”Ben Southall will be paid A$150,000 ($110,000) to live on Hamilton Island in the northern state of Queensland for six months. His job will include exploring white sand beaches, sailing, snorkeling and scuba diving -- and promoting the island to tourists in a weekly blog, or online diary.
“Everything that is offered out there I want to grasp with both hands,” the 34-year-old from Hampshire, southern England, who lists his hobbies as marathon running and climbing, said in comments broadcast live around the world from the island.
The appointment is the culmination of a marketing campaign that aims to defy the global recession and boost the number of tourists to Australia. Tourism Queensland estimates the A$1.7 million campaign generated more than A$100 million worth of publicity and may help reverse a forecast 4.1 percent decline in international visitors to Australia this year.
“We’ve certainly got a good return on our investment,” Bruce Wallace, director of market activation and publicity, said in a telephone interview. “There were only two countries in the world that our Web site didn’t receive hits from, Somalia and North Korea.”
Global Recession
Tourism Queensland unveiled its “Best Job in the World” competition in January, in the midst of the northern hemisphere winter and the gloom of a global recession.
The power of Internet chat forums and social networking sites took over, with more than 200,000 people logging onto its Web site in the first weekend, straining server capacity.The tourism board whittled down the entrants to 16 candidates, vetting their 60-second video applications for qualities such as “an adventurous spirit” and “excellent communication skills.”
In his application video, which featured pictures of him trekking in Africa, riding an ostrich and kissing a giraffe, Southall described himself as “adventurous, crazy and energetic” with a passion for discovering new places.
Job Perks
Benefits of the job, which begins July 1, include a three- bedroom house, rent free, and a buggy to explore Hamilton Island, the largest inhabited island in the region with 800 residents. An 18-hole championship golf course, five hotels and activities including sailing, snorkeling and scuba diving draw more than 125,000 visitors a year to the island.
The campaign “demonstrates the power of the Internet that the industry needs to be able to tap into,” said Olivia Wirth, executive director of the Tourism & Transport Forum, a lobby group representing 200 tourism companies in Australia.
“It has been a very smart way for Tourism Queensland to get their message to millions of people at minimum cost” and cut through the “clutter” of television and magazine advertising at a time when there is a fall in global demand for holidays, she said.
The forecast drop in international visitor numbers to Australia this year would be the worst performance in 20 years, Tourism Australia said in December.
The A$65 billion industry employs more than 800,000 people.
