Cathay Pacific Airways is pleased to announce that Michael Corey from Canada has won the “Travel the World in 80 Days with Cathay Pacific” competition, earning him the right to unlimited travel on the airline’s network.

The contest, launched on the Cathay Pacific Facebook page on 24 January, attracted nearly 4,000 entries from around the world. Eight finalists were invited to Hong Kong from 12-14 April to take part in a one-day city challenge during which they were asked to show their initiative and creativity to post two blogs and upload photos that captured the essence of the city’s attractions.

The finalists then met with a panel of judges which included Cathay Pacific’s General Manager Marketing & Product James Ginns and Online Marketing Manager Ali Bullock, Facebook Director North Asia Jayne Leung and CNNGo.com Senior Editor James Durston. Cathay Pacific Facebook fans were also given the opportunity to view the finalists’ work after the day in Hong Kong and vote for their favourite.

As the winner, Michael will receive unlimited round-trip Economy Class tickets from Vancouver or Toronto to Hong Kong and onward to any destination on the networks of Cathay Pacific and sister airline Dragonair for 80 days within the period 1 June to 31 August 2011. Also included in the prize are three nights’ hotel accommodation in each destination, a daily allowance of up to HK$2,800 per trip (approximately C$357), global travel insurance and a Canon PowerShot G12 Digital Compact Camera.

In return, Michael will be submitting regular report on his travel experiences, including photos and videos, for posting on the Cathay Pacific’s Facebook page, Twitter feed, Youtube channel and other social media properties.

“I want to thank Cathay Pacific for the opportunity to pursue something I’ve been dreaming about since embarking on my first trip,” Michael said. “I’ve got some exciting things planned, and I’m thrilled to have such great company as my partner. Being the face of an airline I genuinely support means so much to me and I can’t wait to get started!”

James Ginns said that Michael really impressed the judges with his desire to travel and take part in special experiences ranging from seeing various carnivals in the Philippines to sleeping on the Great Wall in China.

“We particularly liked his engaging personality and ability to tell a story in a creative way that will interest and captivate the audience. I think everyone who follows CX on social media platforms will really enjoy his adventures as he travels around the world,” James said.

Cathay Pacific will also be offering two other finalists – Yuen Man So from Hong Kong and Melodye Brant from the US – a special prize of a round-trip Cathay Pacific flight each.

“Both these finalists impressed the judges with their ability to convey their passion and love of travelling, and we wanted to offer the opportunity for them to travel again on Cathay Pacific,” James said.

“I would like to thank everyone who participated and shared in this campaign. Social network sites are an increasingly important tool through which we can engage with our customers and this unique competition certainly showed the interest and excitement that can be generated,” he added.

Cathay Pacific expressed its thanks to Canon and mobile operator 3HK for their invaluable assistance during the running of the “Travel the World in 80 Days with Cathay Pacific” competition.