“Best Job In The World” Is Back: Australian Tourism Is Hiring

MUMBAI, India - March 14, 2013 - PRLog -- “BEST JOB IN THE WORLD” IS BACK: AUSTRALIAN TOURISM IS HIRING

Tourism Australia is teaming up with industry and State and Territory tourism partners in a new A$4 million campaign targeting the international youth market - a segment which last year contributed nearly A$12 billion in tourism spending and a quarter of all Australia's international visitors.

At the heart of the campaign is a global competition involving six of Australia’s State and Territory Tourism Organisations - each offering their own unique "Best Job in the World" as a winning prize.

The competition was unveiled today in Cairns, one of the country's most popular destinations amongst young travellers, by the Hon. Federal Minister for Tourism, Martin Ferguson AM MP, alongside Ben Southall who was the successful candidate in Tourism Queensland’s highly successful "Best Job in the World" campaign in 2009.

The “Best Jobs in the World” initiative is part of a major international marketing push which will focus upon promoting tourism opportunities provided by Australia’s Working Holiday Maker (WHM) program.

The campaign will target travellers between 18 and 30 years of age in Australia and overseas, with particular focus on international markets eligible for an Australian working holiday visas, including the UK and Ireland, the US and Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan.

The six ‘Best Jobs in the World’ each come with an attractive six month salary package worth A$100,000 including living costs and are:

• Chief Funster (New South Wales)

• Outback Adventurer (Northern Territory)

• Park Ranger (Queensland)

• Wildlife Caretaker (South Australia)

• Lifestyle Photographer (Melbourne)

• Taste Master (Western Australia)

Tourism Australia Managing Director Andrew McEvoy said the competition provided an excellent platform to entice more young people from around the world to come to Australia to holiday, but also to work, helping to fill many unfilled tourism jobs across Australia, a key challenge for the industry.

"We've taken one of the most successful tourism campaigns in recent times - "Best Job in the World" - and made it bigger and better by coming up with a competition which represents the very best of our country - our breath-taking landscapes and scenery, our unique nature and wildlife, great food and wine and, of course, our huge sense of fun,” Mr McEvoy said.

Ben Southall added: “A few years ago I won “The Best Job in the World” – being an Island Caretaker on the Great Barrier Reef. Unfortunately for me, my time is up. But luckily for the world ‘The Best Job in the World’ is back. This time there’s not one, but six amazing jobs in Australia up for grabs.”

Mr McEvoy said the competition was expected to appeal to youth travellers’ sense of fun and adventure. “The youth market contributes more than a quarter of all Australia's international arrivals. These are visitors who tend to stay longer, disperse widely and often come back again, with their families, later in their lives. For many young people, Australia’s working holiday visa programs provide the economic means to fund travel plans, and this is at the heart of our new campaign,” he said.

Karyn Kent, Regional General Manager for South/Southeast Asia and The Gulf, commented, “We believe that youth travellers are great advocates for Australia – they travel with an open mind and are quick to embrace the Australian lifestyle. They are well connected and love to share their stories with their family and friends.  We hope that this competition will appeal to their sense of fun and adventure and also provide a great platform for those seeking valuable international work experience as they develop their career paths. “

The youth segment contributes A$12 billion annually in total tourism spending and delivers nearly 1.6 million (26%) of Australia's international arrivals. On average, youth travellers spend A$7,279 per trip in Australia (IVS: September 2012). In 2012, Working Holiday Makers contributed A$2.5 billion to the Australian economy. On average WHMs spend in excess of A$13,000 during their stay.

"This is a wonderful chance to reinforce and amplify our There's Nothing Like Australia message that Australia is a wonderful, world class destination full of unique experiences, adventure and great places to explore," Mr McEvoy said.

The competition is open to anyone over the age of 18 that is able to obtain an appropriate visa that will allow them to work in Australia.

Tourism Australia has secured a number of key partners to support the campaign, including Virgin Australia, STA Travel, Citibank, DELL, IKEA, Sony Music and Monster.com, who have created an online ‘jobs board’, advertising temporary jobs within the Australian tourism industry aimed at travellers visiting the country under Australia’s WHM program.

About Tourism Australia

Tourism Australia is responsible for promoting Australia world-wide as the world’s best destination for business and leisure. Through a wide range of activities Tourism Australia aims to raise awareness of Australia’s unique attributes which attract and entice visitors to experience our country. Our activities in 23 markets, including Australia, include advertising, public relations and media programs, trade shows and programs for the tourism industry, consumer promotions, online communications and research.

In November 2010 Tourism Australia unveiled a new strategic approach for Australian tourism – the 2020 Tourism Industry Potential - to improve the industry’s performance and competitiveness. The 2020 Tourism Industry Potential is a 10 year vision for the industry which aims to grow the overnight expenditure generated by tourism to as much as $140 billion by 2020.

To achieve the 2020 Potential, Tourism Australia operates in key markets around the world offering the greatest opportunities for tourism growth including Australia. This includes established markets such as the United Kingdom, Japan, New Zealand, USA, Germany, Korea, and China; growth markets such as Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India; Thailand, and Gulf Countries.