Ben Southall, a charity worker from the United Kingdom has been appointed the new caretaker of the islands of the Great Barrier Reef, after beating 34,000 other applicants to the post dubbed "The Best Job in the World."This new position requires Southall live, swim, and play every day, then record his adventures for the world via blogs, photos, video updates and media interviews. Not bad for AUD $150,000 and six months worth of work. Earlier this month, 16 finalists arrived on Hamilton Island, where the caretaker will be based, for a four day extended interview. After a swimming test and a tour of the island, the candidates explored the Blue Pearl Villa - a.k.a. the caretaker's residence - a private, three bedroom cottage with views of the Whitsunday islands. The successful candidate, Tourism Queensland CEO Anthony Hayes said, would be "someone who can capture and hold world attention." While Southall's application video (embedded below) shows that he certainly can grab attention, and the publicity stunt dreamed up by Tourism Queensland has certainly been successful in giving Australian tourism a global profile, one question remains: Can the social Web interest translate into future tourism dollars for Australia - and more specifically Queensland? According to Hayes, "that's the million dollar question." 来自英国的义工Ben Southall被任命为“大堡礁"的新任护岛人。他打败了其他3,4000位应聘者,赢得”世界上最好的工作。“ 这份工作要求Southall每天充分享受生活,像游泳和玩乐,然后通过博客,照片,视频,和媒体访谈记录他在岛上生活。半年的工作薪水是15万澳元, 16个参加最终的决赛人员在月初的时候到抵达了汉密尔顿岛(这也是护岛人最后要待的地方),进行为期四天的深入面试。在经过游泳测试和环岛游览后,候选人员会考察蓝珍珠别墅——这是是护岛人住的地方——这是一个私人,三卧室,以及可以看到Whitsunday岛的别墅。昆士兰旅游局首席执行官Anthony Hayes称最终能胜出的候选人应该是“抓住并占据世界注意力的人。” 而Southall的申请视频(已经嵌在页面下方)向我们展示,他完全按可以抓住众人的注意力,而昆士兰旅游局设想的炒作无疑可以提高澳大利亚在全球的知名度,但还是有一个问题:社交网络的关注能否为澳大利亚(尤其是昆士兰)带来更多的旅游收入?用Hayes的话来讲,“这可是一个关乎百万收入的问题。” |