Thursday, March 17, 2011

Queensland offers million dollar holiday in new competition


A humble Aussie butcher shop has as much chance of bagging a million dollar holiday package to the sunshine state as a global multinational, Tourism Queensland says.

The tourism body is dangling the million dollar trip for one business or company anywhere in the world to rekindle tourism in the state.

The contest could be dubbed the digital version of "in 25 words or less" as business have to submit a 60 second (or less) video on why they should receive the prize.

Premier Anna Bligh said companies or workplaces with as few as three people were eligible to enter Million Dollar Memo to win the luxury Queensland holiday package, which targets global incentive travel for employees.

"The incentive travel market is a multibillion dollar market internationally and it is also a growing market, particularly in major developed countries where high-skilled people are increasing demand and companies are competing all the time to keep the best people," she told reporters on the Gold Coast on Friday.

"Tourism Queensland currently attracts some $380 million from that market but we think we can do considerably better.

"When employers all around the planet are thinking how can I best reward my staff, we want Queensland to be one of the destinations on the top of their list, not just now but forever."

Ms Bligh said a small company with just a handful of employees has just as much chance of winning the million dollar package as a huge global corporation that can sink tens of thousands of dollars into a slick video production.

"I think when you go to things like YouTube, the things that capture global imagination are often those that are the most amateur because they capture something very human," she said.

"When you're looking for the X-factor, anybody can have it anywhere, so big slick productions won't necessarily capture what we're looking for."

The competition is now open to any company or workplace with three or more employees in Australia and right around the world, with entries being taken online at www.milliondollarmemo.com.

Tourism Queensland boss Anthony Hayes said he had no idea how many entries might be attracted to the competition, which has been 18 months in planning and follows The Best Job in The World.

"We ended up with 35,000 video entries for The Best Job in The World, but this is different ... so we really have no idea," he said.

"We have a very large bank of staff lined up ready to dedicate the next month or two of their lives to watching one minute videos."

The Million Dollar Memo competition closes on May 1.

The contest then enters three phases with a top 50 short-list which will be culled to a final 20 companies.

The top 20 will send a representative to Queensland to compete in an incentive challenge in unique locations throughout the state from August 23.

Website visitors can also vote for their favorite entries to be given a wildcard spot in the final and the overall winner will be announced on August 31.

Read More

http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/queensland-offers-million-dollar-holiday-in-new-competition-20110318-1bzu9.html

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