- Title: AUSTRALIA: Winners of Australia's 'Best Jobs in the World' announced
- Date: 21st June 2013
- Summary: CLIP OF VIDEO OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA'S WILDLIFE CARETAKERS
- Embargoed: 6th July 2013 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Australia
- Country: Australia
- Topics: Business,Industry,Quirky,Travel / Tourism
- Reuters ID: LVAED8SQR5045VA31LJHXMHL6780
- Story Text: Tourism Australia announce the six winners of their 'Best Jobs in the World' competition.
STORY:After two months of scrutiny, Australian tourism officials have whittled down thousands of applicants and announced six winners of the 'Best Jobs in the World' campaign in Sydney on Friday (June 21).
The winners hailed from far and wide to undergo final challenges last week, from climbing the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge to training with an Australian Football League team.
American Andrew Smith became the New South Wales (NSW) 'Chief Funster,' winning a six-month contract with a A$100,000 ($92,000 USD) salary.
"I get to see everything with brand new eyes and yeah I live in California, LA is nearby, been in New York a lot, we have big cities but Sydney is huge too. So I really want to uncover the differences and maybe the strong points and then showcase those to everybody and say hey, you can only find those in Australia, why don't you come?" he said.
The NSW 'Chief Funster' will attend all Sydney VIP parties, festivals and events, while the Northern Territory's 'Outback Adventurer,' won by Irishman Allan Dixon, from Arklow in County Wicklow, will spend his time exploring the dusty red desert and sun-drenched landscapes.
"In Ireland we don't have that much diverse ecosystem of animals and the Northern Territories has so much so I just cant wait to get in there," Dixon said.
Western Australia's 'Taste Master' job went to Englishman Rich Keam, from Portsmouth.
"I don't think I'm going to become a chef. I think I'm going to be promoting all the wonders of Western Australia. I'll say again the fresh produce, the fish, the wines, all the experiences that you can have out there. We went up north to Exmouth and went snorkelling with whale sharks as well for one of our challenges and it was mind blowing, absolutely amazing," said Keam.
The six-month jobs attracted 330,000 expressions of interest from 196 countries and offer a stipend of A$100,000 ($91,800). Tourism Australia picked a shortlist of 18 finalists in April.
Andrew McEvoy, Managing Director of Tourism Australia, said the campaign has been one of the most successful ever seen and it is already paying commercial dividends, selling tickets to Australia.
"Our colleagues at STA (Student Travel Australia) say they've had a 100 percent spike in sales in the USA, a 60 percent spike in Germany, a 20 percent spike in the UK. So, already commercially its working and the best is yet to come," McEvoy said.
Roberto Seba from Brazil was appointed Victoria's 'Lifestyle Photographer' and the only female winner, Frenchwoman Elisa Detrez, said she wants to be Queensland's best 'Park Ranger.'
"I am going to be the best Park Ranger of Queensland. I will make the entire world dream about this, to get the greatest number of people to come to Queensland, to bring to life exceptional things that I will experience myself," Detrez said.
Canadian Greg Snell will become South Australia's 'Wildlife Caretaker' and said he is excited about the months ahead.
"Everything from swimming with sea lions to diving with great white sharks, to the conservation and sustainable development of the seal colonies on Kangaroo Island, to playing with koalas and waking up kangaroos. The world is going to experience the best tourism opportunities in South Australia through my eyes," said Snell.
The campaign was based on a successful 2009 initiative by Queensland tourism authorities seeking an island caretaker on the pristine Great Barrier Reef.
Briton Ben Southall, winner of the 2009 competition, said the jobs will involve hard work.
"For the first couple of weeks they've just got to let the fanfare die down a bit and realise that they're here to do a serious job. They're here to sell Australia to the rest of the world. For me it was six months of hard work. It was great fun and new experiences and that's exactly what those winners are now going to have," he said.
The idea spawned similar campaigns around the globe. Most recently, the Chinese city of Hangzhou launched a Facebook campaign searching for a "Modern Day Marco Polo". - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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