Picked from a pool of 34,000 applicants from across the world, 34-year-old Southall was one of 16 finalists for the $150,000, six-month Great Barrier Reef island caretaker job starting on July 1.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh announced the winner’s name at a ceremony on Hamilton Island today.
Southall told the audience at the announcement that the campaign, which has generated about $100 million in tourism publicity, had been an “enormous worldwide success”.
“I hope I can sell the reef as much as everybody is expecting,” he said.
He will start his new role as caretaker of Hamilton Island on July 1, being paid $150,000 to sail, snorkel and scuba dive while promoting the island and the Great Barrier Reef to tourists through an online blog.
Among his perks are a three-bedroom luxury villa and buggy to explore the island.
Ms Bligh said the competition had been the “most successful tourism marketing campaign in history”.
“The Best Job in the World has been an amazing journey,” she said.
The final 16 candidates from 15 countries included students, journalists, TV presenters, photographers, a receptionist, radio DJ, teacher, charity event manager and an actress.
Southall is a project manager and charity fundraiser from Petersfield, Hampshire.
He began his quest for the job in January when Tourism Queensland began seeking candidates for six months in the sun amid the northern hemisphere winter and the worsening global recession.
He described himself in his 60-second video application as “the adventurous, crazy energetic one”.
“If it’s the best job in the world then I’m off to the best place in the world,” he says in the video, which shows footage of him riding an ostrich and being kissed by a leopard during his travels in Africa last year.
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Article from: aap
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