Published Tuesday, 13 January, 2009 at 04:56 PM
Minister for Tourism, Regional Development and Industry
The Honourable Desley Boyle
Competition for the “Best Job in the World” tough – 200,000 prospective applicants in just 24 hours
More than 200,000 prospective applicants for Tourism Queensland’s “Best Job in the World” – a six month $150,000 contract on Hamilton Island - have visited the www.islandreefjob.com website in the first 24 hours, Tourism Minister Desley Boyle said.
Ms Boyle said the innovative campaign, which offers the successful applicant, who can come from anywhere in the world, the chance to live rent free on Hamilton Island for six months in a multi-million oceanfront villa, spend their time exploring the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef and be paid a salary of AUD $150,000 – had received an unprecedented global response.
“This is one of the most ground-breaking tourism campaigns ever undertaken and while we knew it would be big, the global response in the first 24 hours has outstripped even our expectations,” Ms Boyle said.
“The Best Job in the World campaign was launched internationally on the weekend and in the first 24 hours people have logged onto the website more than 200,000 times, looked at more than a million pages and already submitted over 200 applications.
“In the UK alone, the best Job in the World was the lead story everywhere from the BBC to the Daily Telegraph, it’s been reported on CNN, Sky News and Reuters and been talked about on major morning television and radio.
“In one day alone we have reached around 29 million Brits and achieved $13 million in publicity for Queensland.
“The gloomy economic outlook combined with the even gloomier weather at this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere means the lure of spending six months on a tropical Queensland Great Barrier Reef island – and being paid to do it – could not have been offered at a more perfect time.”
Ms Boyle said The Best Job in the World was an innovative campaign which aimed to position the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef as a stand-alone destination and instil the desire for travellers from around the world to visit Queensland.
She said The Best Job in the World was a genuine job offer where candidates would have to submit a 60 second video application from which 11 finalists would be flown from around the world for an intense interview process on Hamilton Island.
“This is not a competition, it is a genuine job, and it will be tough for the successful candidate,” Ms Boyle said.
“He or she will be required to live in an oceanfront villa, undertake a range of activities such as swimming, snorkelling, bushwalking and exploring the islands of the Great Barrier Reef.
“They’ll need to make friends with the locals and really get to know the destination and then report back on their experiences via blogs, video diaries and media interviews.”
Ms Boyle said print ads would appear in the employment sections of major international newspapers this week and in Australian press this Saturday. The ads were also running on a range of international employment websites and from Saturday would appear on Australia’s seek.com.au and careerone.com.au job websites.
“In this day and age of cluttered media and advertising markets, coming up with an innovative idea that can cut through is increasingly difficult,” Ms Boyle said.
“We have received fantastic support from our tourism industry, especially the key sponsors Hamilton Island and Qantas Holidays.
“All of the feedback we have received so far from international and Australian consumer is that Tourism Queensland’s Best Job in the World is just that.
“Our predictions are that the Tourism Queensland recruitment team will be working around the clock to go through the thousands of applications we expect to receive.”
Information the job can be found at www.islandreefjob.com. Applications close on February 22, the 11 short-listed applicants to be flown to Hamilton Island for the final interview process in May and the successful candidate to start their six month contract in July.
Ends
Media contact: 3225 1005 or 0419 025 326
Tourism Queensland: 3535 5010
Ms Boyle said the innovative campaign, which offers the successful applicant, who can come from anywhere in the world, the chance to live rent free on Hamilton Island for six months in a multi-million oceanfront villa, spend their time exploring the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef and be paid a salary of AUD $150,000 – had received an unprecedented global response.
“This is one of the most ground-breaking tourism campaigns ever undertaken and while we knew it would be big, the global response in the first 24 hours has outstripped even our expectations,” Ms Boyle said.
“The Best Job in the World campaign was launched internationally on the weekend and in the first 24 hours people have logged onto the website more than 200,000 times, looked at more than a million pages and already submitted over 200 applications.
“In the UK alone, the best Job in the World was the lead story everywhere from the BBC to the Daily Telegraph, it’s been reported on CNN, Sky News and Reuters and been talked about on major morning television and radio.
“In one day alone we have reached around 29 million Brits and achieved $13 million in publicity for Queensland.
“The gloomy economic outlook combined with the even gloomier weather at this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere means the lure of spending six months on a tropical Queensland Great Barrier Reef island – and being paid to do it – could not have been offered at a more perfect time.”
Ms Boyle said The Best Job in the World was an innovative campaign which aimed to position the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef as a stand-alone destination and instil the desire for travellers from around the world to visit Queensland.
She said The Best Job in the World was a genuine job offer where candidates would have to submit a 60 second video application from which 11 finalists would be flown from around the world for an intense interview process on Hamilton Island.
“This is not a competition, it is a genuine job, and it will be tough for the successful candidate,” Ms Boyle said.
“He or she will be required to live in an oceanfront villa, undertake a range of activities such as swimming, snorkelling, bushwalking and exploring the islands of the Great Barrier Reef.
“They’ll need to make friends with the locals and really get to know the destination and then report back on their experiences via blogs, video diaries and media interviews.”
Ms Boyle said print ads would appear in the employment sections of major international newspapers this week and in Australian press this Saturday. The ads were also running on a range of international employment websites and from Saturday would appear on Australia’s seek.com.au and careerone.com.au job websites.
“In this day and age of cluttered media and advertising markets, coming up with an innovative idea that can cut through is increasingly difficult,” Ms Boyle said.
“We have received fantastic support from our tourism industry, especially the key sponsors Hamilton Island and Qantas Holidays.
“All of the feedback we have received so far from international and Australian consumer is that Tourism Queensland’s Best Job in the World is just that.
“Our predictions are that the Tourism Queensland recruitment team will be working around the clock to go through the thousands of applications we expect to receive.”
Information the job can be found at www.islandreefjob.com. Applications close on February 22, the 11 short-listed applicants to be flown to Hamilton Island for the final interview process in May and the successful candidate to start their six month contract in July.
Ends
Media contact: 3225 1005 or 0419 025 326
Tourism Queensland: 3535 5010