Tourism Australia confirmed that it has already received more a quarter of a million 'job applications' since unveiling its 'Best Jobs in the World' competition just one week ago.
A total of 275,000 expressions of interest have been submitted by 150,000 individuals from 196 countries in the seven days since the global youth campaign was launched in London and Australia. Close to 4,000 videos have already been uploaded, with more expected in the coming days and weeks.
The USA has so far provided the greatest number of applications (38,000), followed by France (33,000) the United Kingdom (32,000) and Italy (30,000). Australia rounds out the top 5, with 25,000 Australians eager to demonstrate they too have the capability and skill to take on one of the six best jobs in the world.
After the first week of entries, there are three front runners for the most popular job, with less than one percent separating South Australia's Wildlife Caretaker (19.4%), New South Wales' Chief Funster (19.2%) and Queensland's Park Ranger (18.5%). West Australia's Taste Master (14.9%), Northern Territory's Outback Adventurer (14.5%) and Melbourne's Lifestyle Photographer (13.5%) are not far behind.
Tourism Australia's ‘Best Jobs in the World' competition continues to generate incredible exposure and media attention at home and overseas - with more than 1,000 media articles so far from around the world, including Time Magazine, the New York Times, the Daily Telegraph, BBC, Good Morning America and national TV news in more than a dozen countries. Several international television production companies have also approached Tourism Australia with documentary proposals.
Tourism Australia Managing Director Andrew McEvoy said the reaction to the competition had been overwhelmingly positive, far exceeding expectations.
"With over a quarter of a million applications, more than a thousand international media articles and 50 industry partners already enthusiastically on board, I think we've backed a winner.
"These six jobs represent 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. And judging by the number of applications, they are clearly also incredibly desirable," Mr McEvoy said.
Social media channels have been busy too, with conversations and discussions around the six best jobs being shared online across the world.
More people are currently engaged in discussions about the competition on Tourism Australia's 'australianworkingholiday' Facebook page than on the main SeeAustralia page, which boasts a record 4.1million plus fans. The working holiday maker page has gained 100,000 new fans in a week, growing from 150,000 to 250,000.
The contest has captured the nation's imagination to such an extent that one of Australia's leading betting companies is even offering odds on which of the six jobs will be the most popular when the deadline for entries closes on April 10.
Applications can be submitted at
www.australia.com/bestjobs.
The applicant will be asked to select the job they wish to apply for and complete a simple entry form. Once the application is completed they will receive an e-mail asking them to upload a 30 second video explaining why they should get the job.
The ‘Best Jobs in the World' campaign is supported by Destination NSW, Tourism Northern Territory, Tourism Victoria, Tourism Western Australia, Tourism and Events Queensland and South Australian Tourism Commission. In addition a number of key commercial partners are supporting the campaign, including Virgin Australia, STA Travel, Citibank, DELL, IKEA, Sony Music and Monster.com, who have created an online ‘jobs board', advertising temporary or casual jobs in Australia aimed at travellers visiting the country under Australia's WHM program.
