A biologist, actor, graphic designer, photographer, ecologist and comedian are among the top 25 candidates for Queensland’s Best Job in the World ‘Park Ranger’ position.

Minister for Tourism, Major Events, Small Business and the Commonwealth Games Jann Stuckey said the top 25 candidates for the Queensland job came from 14 countries across the globe including the US, France, Kazakhstan, the UK, Germany, Finland, South Africa, Italy, Hong Kong, Netherlands Antilles, Spain, Canada, Belgium and Australia.

“More than 100,000 expressions of interest were received for Queensland’s Best Job in the World ‘Park Ranger’ position, with almost 10,000 video applications uploaded for consideration by the judges,” Ms Stuckey said.

“The large amount of interest in the Queensland job demonstrates the state’s appeal as a tourism destination amongst international youth travellers.”

Best Jobs in the World is a Tourism Australia campaign targeting global youth travellers, involving six of the country’s state and territory tourism organisations including Tourism and Events Queensland.

Pictured: Queenslander Joanna Horsfall is attempting to secure the Best Job in the World in her own backyard.

Ms Stuckey said each State and territory was offering a “Best Job in the World” as a prize.

“I understand Tourism Australia’s assessors had a tough time determining the top 25 short-list and it came down to the motivation, professionalism and creativity of the applicants and their ‘fit’ for the ‘Park Ranger’ job,” she said.

The top 25 short-listed video applications feature everything from action, adventure, comedy and even animation and are online at - www.australia.com/bestjobs. 

The candidates will now be tasked with demonstrating why they deserve the job, sourcing supportive job references and publicity to support their applications.

Ms Stuckey said the successful candidate for Queensland’s Best Job in the World, ‘Park Ranger’ would work alongside experienced guides and tourism operators to showcase the State’s natural assets to the world through blogging, photography and social media activities.

“Queensland boasts hundreds of national and marine parks, with amazing nature-based tourism experiences. The successful candidate will have enviable tasks such as exploring the underwater wonderland of the Great Barrier Reef and learning from the custodians of the world’s oldest rainforest,” she said.

The top 25 will be narrowed down to a final shortlist of three candidates who will travel to Queensland to take part in the final selection process.

The successful candidate will be announced on 21 June 2013.

For further information on the campaign including applications and timelines, visit www.australia.com/bestjobs.