More than 23,000 enter for the Best Experience in the World
Posted by editor (editor) on Oct 13 2009
2009 >>

More than 23,000 potential “best mates” for Island Caretaker Ben Southall are competing for the chance to bring three mates to Queensland as part of Tourism Queensland’s Best Experience in the World competition, which closed today.

Tourism Minister Peter Lawlor said the number of entrants for the coveted competition, which closed at 10am this morning Queensland time, had far exceeded Tourism Queensland’s expectations.

“The competition attracted entrants from 152 countries around the world including Venezuela, Bosnia, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Trinidad,” Mr Lawlor said.

“As expected, Tourism Queensland witnessed a last minute rush of entries, as competition hopefuls finalised which of their three mates they would like to bring with them to Queensland to assist Ben explore the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef.

“Australia had the highest number of entries with 8304, followed by the US with 3378 and the UK with 1885.

“The aim of the competition was to continue to drive visitors to www.islandreefjob.com to read all about Ben’s Queensland adventures and then instil in them a desire to visit Queensland themselves.

“Following the campaign launch on 26 August, more than 180,000 people logged on to www.islandreefjob.com for information and updates on the competition and to read Ben’s blog.

“The response has been fantastic and proves global interest in the Best Job in the World is at an all time high and continues to grab the attention of a world-wide audience.

“Our focus is on keeping the Best Job in the World followers engaged and talking about the campaign and more importantly, wanting to visit Queensland.”

Mr Lawlor said throughout the competition Ben had received hundreds of comments on his blog from people offering to become his mate and assist him with the envious job of exploring the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef.

“The competition also caused a commotion on twitter when it was launched on 26 August, and in celebrity circles with American entrepreneur Russell Simmons and model Miranda Kerr tweeting about Ben’s Queensland adventures,” he said.

“The competition has certainly sparked an interest and desire for people to want to come and holiday in Queensland.

“The 23,295 competition hopefuls will now eagerly wait to hear from Tourism Queensland, after the winner is drawn on Friday 9 October.

“After the lucky winner is notified Tourism Queensland will finalise the group’s itinerary, which will feature some of the best experiences Queensland has to offer.

“The winner and his or her three mates will have the opportunity to take their ultimate Queensland holiday from 11 November 2009.”

MEDIA ENQUIRIES
Minister’s Office – 3225 1005
Tourism Queensland – 3535 5474

Last changed: Oct 13 2009 at 9:25 AM