{"id":20148,"date":"2014-03-20T09:17:00","date_gmt":"2014-03-20T09:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/chief-funster-racks-up-almost-half-a-million-fun-moments-in-nsw-in-three-months\/"},"modified":"2014-03-20T09:17:00","modified_gmt":"2014-03-20T09:17:00","slug":"chief-funster-racks-up-almost-half-a-million-fun-moments-in-nsw-in-three-months","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/2014\/03\/chief-funster-racks-up-almost-half-a-million-fun-moments-in-nsw-in-three-months\/","title":{"rendered":"Chief Funster Racks Up Almost Half a Million Fun Moments in NSW in Three Months"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 21px;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\">Destination NSW\u2019s Chief Funster Andrew Smith has hit the halfway mark of his \u2018Best Job in the World\u2019&nbsp;<\/span><\/span><br \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"DCIM107GOPRO\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-463480\" data-mce-src=\"http:\/\/www.eglobaltravelmedia.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/574534.jpg\" height=\"225\" src=\"http:\/\/www.eglobaltravelmedia.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/574534.jpg\" style=\"background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; cursor: default; float: right; line-height: 21px;\" width=\"300\" \/><span style=\"background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 21px;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\">gig, well ahead of schedule to have 802,000 moments of fun \u2013 one for each square kilometre of the State \u2013 in six months.<\/span><\/span><br \/><span style=\"background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 21px;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\"><br \/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"color: #333333; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\">Since arriving in NSW on 18 December last year, the Californian native has already tallied up more than 480,000 fun moments as part of The Funster Experiment challenge to prove NSW is the most fun place in the world for youth travellers.<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #333333; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\">The Chief Funster has been travelling around Sydney and NSW, experiencing and sharing activities, stories and attractions via social media, adding to a real-time tracker of fun at&nbsp;<a data-mce-href=\"http:\/\/www.sydney.com\/workstudyplay\" href=\"http:\/\/www.sydney.com\/workstudyplay\">www.sydney.com\/workstudyplay<\/a>.<br \/>Fun moments to date include:<\/span><\/div>\n<ul style=\"color: #333333; line-height: 21px;\">\n<li><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\">Handing out&nbsp;<strong>187<\/strong>&nbsp;high fives on New Year\u2019s Eve on Sydney Harbour;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\">Mixing with&nbsp;<strong>18,000<\/strong>&nbsp;Elvii (plural of Elvis) at the Parkes Elvis Festival;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\">Being chased on a farm by&nbsp;<strong>1<\/strong>&nbsp;massive pig called Charlotte at the Tamworth Country Music Festival<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"color: #333333; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\">(video here&nbsp;<a data-mce-href=\"http:\/\/instagram.com\/p\/lbav_8izqn\/\" href=\"http:\/\/instagram.com\/p\/lbav_8izqn\/\">http:\/\/instagram.com\/p\/lbav_8izqn\/<\/a>);<\/span><\/div>\n<ul style=\"color: #333333; line-height: 21px;\">\n<li><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"574537\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-463481\" data-mce-src=\"http:\/\/www.eglobaltravelmedia.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/574537.jpg\" height=\"200\" src=\"http:\/\/www.eglobaltravelmedia.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/574537.jpg\" style=\"border: 0px; cursor: default; float: right;\" width=\"300\" \/><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\">Abseiling&nbsp;<strong>90<\/strong>&nbsp;metres at Empress Falls in the Blue Mountains;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\"><strong>8<\/strong>&nbsp;wipe-outs while learning to surf with pro Nathan Hedge in Newcastle;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\">Watching&nbsp;<strong>65<\/strong>&nbsp;skaters shredding it up at BOWL-A-RAMA on Bondi Beach<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"color: #333333; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\">(video here:&nbsp;<a data-mce-href=\"http:\/\/instagram.com\/p\/lGggRUizgH\/\" href=\"http:\/\/instagram.com\/p\/lGggRUizgH\/\">http:\/\/instagram.com\/p\/lGggRUizgH\/<\/a>);<\/span><\/div>\n<ul style=\"color: #333333; line-height: 21px;\">\n<li><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\">Wading in<strong>&nbsp;400<\/strong>&nbsp;kg of glitter at Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\">Slipping down the&nbsp;<strong>91<\/strong>-metre-long Typhoon waterslide at Wet\u2019n\u2019Wild Sydney<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"color: #333333; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\">(video here:&nbsp;<a data-mce-href=\"http:\/\/instagram.com\/p\/k3MkRMizo5\/\" href=\"http:\/\/instagram.com\/p\/k3MkRMizo5\/\">http:\/\/instagram.com\/p\/k3MkRMizo5\/<\/a>);<\/span><\/div>\n<ul style=\"color: #333333; line-height: 21px;\">\n<li><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\">Freefalling for&nbsp;<strong>60<\/strong>&nbsp;seconds while skydiving in Wollongong; and<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\"><strong>2<\/strong>&nbsp;hot laps with The Stig at the Top Gear Festival Sydney.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"color: #333333; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\">Destination NSW CEO Sandra Chipchase said the Chief Funster had already motivated youth travellers from around the world to visit NSW.<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #333333; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\">\u201cPeople from across the globe have engaged with the NSW Chief Funster via social media, and as a result of seeing how much fun Andrew\u2019s been having in Sydney and NSW so far, have shared their plans to follow in his footsteps,\u201d Ms Chipchase said.<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #333333; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\">\u201cTo reach the halfway point well ahead of schedule on his challenge to find 802,000 moments of fun in NSW is a great achievement \u2013 but it\u2019s no surprise, given the huge volume and variety of amazing experiences on offer across the State.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #333333; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\">While the first three months have been very busy for the Chief Funster, he said there\u2019s still plenty of fun in store.<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #333333; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\">\u201cMy schedule through to the end of June is jam-packed with great events and travel experiences, like climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge, swimming with dolphins in Port Stephens, attending the world premiere of Strictly Ballroom: The Musical, and being part of the much-anticipated Vivid Sydney Festival,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #333333; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\">\u201cHonestly, there\u2019s so much to do and see in NSW, the challenge isn\u2019t finding the fun, it\u2019s fitting all the fun into just six months.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #333333; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\">The Chief Funster was the winner of the most popular role in the Tourism Australia Best Jobs in the World competition, launched in March 2013 to promote tourism opportunities for Working Holiday Makers (WHM).<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #333333; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\">Of the six jobs available, the Chief Funster role received 124,000 applications, the highest number of any state.<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #333333; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\">NSW attracts the most Working Holiday Maker (WHM) visitors to Australia, receiving 210,000 WHM visitors (68.1%) in the year ended September 2013, according to International Visitor Survey (IVS) results from Tourism Research Australia.<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #333333; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\">During the same 12-month period, WHM travellers contributed 7.0% of international visitors, 22.1% of international nights and 13.2% of international expenditure in NSW. Expenditure by WHM to NSW for this period was $867.9 million, up by 13.4% on the previous year.<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #333333; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\">For more information on the many events, attractions, experiences and activities on offer to youth travellers, and to follow the Chief Funster\u2019s adventures and progress, go to:<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #333333; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\"><em>Website:&nbsp;<\/em><a data-mce-href=\"http:\/\/www.sydney.com\/workstudyplay\" href=\"http:\/\/www.sydney.com\/workstudyplay\">www.sydney.com\/workstudyplay<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #333333; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\"><em>Facebook:<\/em>&nbsp;Sydneyfunaustralia<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #333333; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\"><em>Twitter:<\/em>&nbsp;@sydneyfun<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #333333; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\"><em>Instagram:<\/em>&nbsp;@sydneyfun<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #333333; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\"><em>Blog:<\/em>&nbsp;<a data-mce-href=\"http:\/\/www.sydney.com\/sydney-life\" href=\"http:\/\/www.sydney.com\/sydney-life\">www.sydney.com\/sydney-life<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #333333; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit;\"><em>Join the conversation:<\/em>&nbsp;#ilovesydney #NewSouthWales<\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Destination NSW\u2019s Chief Funster Andrew Smith has hit the halfway mark of his \u2018Best Job in the World\u2019&nbsp;gig, well ahead of schedule to have 802,000 moments of fun \u2013 one for each square kilometre of the State \u2013 in six months. Since arriving in NSW on 18 December last year, the Californian native has already [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20148\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}