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The Briton who won a competition for the "Best Job in the World" arrived on Australia's idyllic Hamilton Island Wednesday to begin his leisurely six-month posting in the tropical paradise.
Ben Southall, 34, started by sending a video blog from Brisbane airport departure lounge where he filmed himself alongside his girlfriend, Breanna Watkins.
"When we get there we're going to explore our house, and it's the first chance to drive the golf buggy as well, which is one of the massive perks of the job," he said.
The outgoing charity fundraiser beat off thousands of competitors for the job in a hugely successful marketing campaign that captured the world's imagination and earned international awards for its creators.
His brief as "caretaker" is to snorkel, swim and sail around the balmy Whitsunday Islands and send daily blogs and video blogs with the aim of promoting the destination for Tourism Queensland.
His movements will be recorded in exhaustive detail on two websites, www.islandreefjob.com.au and www.bestjobben.com, as well as social networking site Twitter.
Southall earlier courted controversy when he admitted he would miss Britain's long summer days and traditional roast dinners, prompting newspapers to accuse him of being a "whingeing pom".
"So when asked about the things I'd miss about the UK it appears I have to play my cards close to my chest for fear of reprisal by the tabloid newspapers both here and in Australia!"
However, he later complained he had been placed in economy class for the long journey from Britain to Australia.
"Can you believe it....I'm in economy!! Oh well can't change the habit of a lifetime," he tweeted.
Tourism Queensland chief Anthony Hayes insisted Southall would have to work hard and said the 'best job' stunt would help keep the industry afloat in the global downturn.
"Today is the beginning," he said. "All the publicity's been great but now it's about communicating with people who really will want to come to Queensland for a holiday.
A government report this month warned Australia's tourism industry was at risk of losing thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in income after its share of global tourism dropped 14 percent between 1995 and 2008.
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(Agencies)
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“世界最好工作”的英国得主已于本周三抵达澳大利亚风景如画的汉密尔顿岛，开始了他在这个热带天堂岛屿为期半年的休闲般工作时光。
34岁的本•索思豪尔上任做的第一件事是在澳大利亚布里斯班机场的候机大厅发布了一篇视频博客。他在那里拍了一段自己和女友布丽娜•沃肯斯的视频。
他说：“我们到了以后会参观一下房子，而且我们还将第一次开高尔夫球车，这也是这份工作带给我的诸多‘红利’之一。”
这位外向的慈善募捐人从数千名竞争者中脱颖而出，赢得了这份工作。竞聘活动的推广获得了巨大成功，全世界为之浮想联翩，也为发起者赢得了全球褒奖。
他身为“护岛人”的职责主要包括潜水、游泳，环绕气候温和的降灵群岛航行，并每天更新博客、上传视频，为昆士兰州旅游局宣传该地。
他的活动将被详细登载在www.islandreefjob.com.au和www.bestjobben.com两个网站，以及社交网站Twitter上面。
之前，索思豪尔曾坦承自己会想念英国漫长的夏日以及传统的烘烤餐宴。他因此而招致非议，报纸指责他像个“怨妇”。
“因此当有人问我会想念英国的什么时，看起来我不得不为自己保密，以防被这里和澳大利亚的小报抓住小辫子。”
但他随后就抱怨道，从英国到澳大利亚的长途旅行自己被安排乘坐经济舱。
他嘀咕道：“你都不会相信，我坐的是经济舱！我一辈子都改不掉这个习惯了。”
昆士兰州旅游局局长安东尼•海斯坚称，索思豪尔要努力工作，“最好工作”这个噱头将使旅游业在经济衰退时期平稳发展。
他说：“今天工作就开始了。之前的推广都做得很棒，而现在到了和那些真正想来昆士兰州度假的人们好好交流的时候了。”
本月的一份政府报告提醒称，澳大利亚旅游业面临裁员数千人，收入锐减数十亿美元的危险。在1995年至2008年，该国旅游业在全球所占市场份额下降了14%。
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（英语点津 实习生许雅宁编辑）
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