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Travel Contests / Best Job in the World / Tourism Queensland / Australia Travel / Business Travel / Ben Southall / → All Tags

The 'Best Job in the World' is Back, But This Time It's for an Entire Company to Win

Australia is up to their travel contest tricks again, but this time their sights are set on the lucrative business travel market. Please welcome the "Million Dollar Memo" competition, which will see the staff of one company, from anywhere in the world, transported to Queensland for a company retreat worth one million dollars (AUD).

This contest is the latest in what's becoming a long line of dream job competitions. First there was the hugely successful Best Job in the World; then there was the Best Experience in the World, and eventually the knock-off contests followed, like "Honeymoon Testers" and "Wine Country Lifestyle Correspondent." Nothing beats Tourism Queensland however, the original inventors of giving away a "job" that instead sounds like a life in paradise, amplified across social media.

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Best Job in the World / Ben Southall / Australia Travel / Hamilton Island / Tourism Queensland / → All Tags

The 'Best Job In The World' Winds Down But Another Awesome Job Begins

While most of us are busy packing up our holiday presents and preparing to head through increased airport security to head home, another traveler is especially sad to see the holiday season come to an end. Our lucky pal Ben Southall, who won Tourism Queensland's Best Job In The World earlier this year, is finally coming off the payroll, but only for a little bit, because apparently he did well on his annual performance review. We probably would too if we needed to excel at blogging, photographing, swimming, and being on vacation for much of 2009.

After a visit from Santa and his parents for the holidays—we hope he got a new snorkel—he’ll be heading out from paradise to promote his former island home around the world. His new job will be to tell everyone how great Queensland and Hamilton Island are, but he will have to do it away from the sun and the sand.

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Is Queensland's 'Best Job In The World' Really The Worst?

The now very-well-known tourist board campaign which recruited Ben Southall for the Best Job in the World—experiencing and blogging about life on the paradise of Hamilton Island in Queensland, Australia—apparently earned the state about $360 million worth of publicity (not bad for a $2.2 million outlay). Now that everyone knows that Queensland is a great place to go thanks to Ben's twitter pictures and blogs, there's one big problem: nobody's going.

Despite the massive interest in Queensland, international tourist numbers dropped by almost 8% over the last year, and almost 14% fewer international business visitors arrived. Of course, the global economic crisis can probably take a fair bit of the blame for that, but Queensland is still worried.

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Best Job In The World / Best Experience In The World / Travel Contests / Ben Southall / Twitter / Australia Travel / Hamilton Island / Tourism Queensland / → All Tags

'Best Job In The World' Winner Ben Southall Looking For Four Assistants

We're already almost two months into Brit Ben Southall's six-month term as "Island Caretaker" of Queensland's Hamilton Island, and he's definitely received more criticism than praise for his work showcasing his travels around the islands of the Great Barrier Reef. This privilege to travel around, live in, and document a paradise on earth is the result of his winning Tourism Queensland's contest to fill the position dubbed "Best Job In The World."

Apparently, the hours have been long and the fun too time-consuming, and Ben hasn't been the best at his job requirements of blogging, twittering and vlogging his experiences. So he's seeking four assistants! It's your second chance at "The Best Job In The World," even if it's really just the second best job in the world.

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Hamilton Island Gets a Brit for 'Best Job in the World'

Aw, shucks! We didn't win Tourism Queensland's huge contest to live on Hamilton Island, also known as the publicity bash called "Best Job in the World." Newsflash: you didn't either, unless you are Ben Southall of Hampshire, England. After four days of grueling Survivor-ish physical and mental testing on the island in the Whitsundays, the final 16 competitors were whittled down to just this 34-year old former African tour guide and charity worker.

It was truly a harrowing time for the folks, who were forced to endure such tests as receiving massages, dining on sumptuous meals of local cuisine, and being submersed in the Great Barrier Reef. Now with Ben Southall pegged to assume his role as "island caretaker" on July 1 for a period of six months, the other 15 can return to their normal, non-videoblogged lives on dry land.

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Finalists for 'Best Job In the World' Finally Go to Battle on Hamilton Island

Time sure flies when you're not in the running for The Best Job in the World, "caretaker" of Hamilton Island in the Great Barrier Reef, since it only feels like yesterday that we wracked our brain thinking of cool things to say in our audition video. Had we ever gotten around to making that video, perhaps we'd be one of the 16 finalists from 15 countries flown this weekend to their possible future home.

So what's on the hectic schedule for the Survivor-like group, which includes our past interview subject Angelene Orth? Having flown in on Virgin Blue, they've already seen the region's hottest airline, which was promptly followed by a tour of the digs at stake: the 3-bedroom luxury Blue Pearl villa.

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A 'Best Job in the World' Candidate Sets Her Eyes on the Prize

We spent some time the other day talking with Angelene Orth, a candidate for the Tourism Queenland's "Best Job in the World" contest in which hopefuls are vying for the chance to work on an island in the Great Barrier Reef for six months.

The responsibilities of the Island Caretaker/Travel Correspondent job (salary: $150,000 AUD plus living and transportation costs) include "taking care" of the Great Barrier Reef, exploring the area and reporting back to the world wide web via video, photos, blogs and other "media commitments."

Orth, 27, and already employed by public relations firm Weber Shandwick, told Jaunted that she's got what it takes to leave the New York behind and settle down for six months Down Under.

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