The competition for Tourism Australia's six "Best Jobs in the World" has been narrowed down to 18 finalists who will head to Australia next month for the final stage of judging.
The finalists – three for each of the six jobs – will each face challenges set by the states and territories over the course of a week. These will include creating video content, blogging and taking part in a "impromptu" media conference.
TA managing director Andrew McEvoy described the final phase of the competition as "show time".
"The candidates now face their very own Australian working holiday – a week of tests and challenges which will ultimately decide who ends up winning these six dream jobs," he said.
But he brought attention back to the "real purpose" of the campaign – to increase awareness and uptake of Australia's Working Holiday Maker program.
According to an online survey completed by nearly 15,000 of the 330,000 people who entered the global competition, seven out of 10 entrants are planning to apply for a working holiday visa with four out of 10 seriously contemplating taking a working holiday in Australia in the next 12 months.
"Early indications, supported by these survey results, indicate that we're ticking those boxes," McEvoy said.
The 18 candidates from 12 countries, although none from Australia, have been selected on the basis of their original 30 second video entry and their success in securing high profile endorsement and publicity to support their application.
Virgin Australia will fly them to and around Australia where they will undergo a series of challenges relevant to their chosen job, with the winners to be announced on June 21.
