November, 9 2010 - From contests on Facebook and Twitter, to deals on Foursquare and Groupon, to who-knows-what’s-next, the travel and hospitality industry has inundated prospective travelers with reasons to come to their particular property or location. Travel and technology are merging quickly, and Tourism Queensland (the home of the Great Barrier Reef) is using technology and social networking in a new and different way.

This fall, Tourism Queensland is offering one lucky winner (and nine of their friends!) an amazing chance to win a trip to explore all the incredible sites and experiences that Queensland has to offer through a Facebook contest. While not the first of its kind, it’s really the virtual passport application that should be spotlighted. It is the only virtual passport application of its kind on Facebook right now, and was created by a team in Queensland specifically for Tourism Queensland. I encourage you to check it out.

The contest, called Passport to Shine, is simple. From now through November 22nd, entrants are asked to “like”/become a fan of Visit Queensland on Facebook, then add the virtual passport application and begin choosing some of the Queensland experiences available in the passport application. As the campaign progresses, additional Queensland experiences will be added for entrants to choose from. The more activities added, the higher the final prize value with the total grand prize topping at AUD$100,000. The activities are fun, family-friendly and unique—like cuddling koalas at the Lone Pine Sanctuary (the world’s first and oldest koala sanctuary), rock climbing to the Kangaroo Point Cliffs, snorkeling near the Great Barrier Reef, or seeing one of the largest natural collections of Australian dinosaur fossils.

It may sound a bit complicated, but the application is very intuitive and easy to use.