EcoColors

Placement organization

Name of organization: EcoColors
Town/city: Cancun
Country: Mexico
Website: http://www.ecotravelmexico.com

Student

Name of student: Roxanne Grootveld

Specialist area: MTT
Placement period: 2012-2013

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Tour operator
Organization’s activities: Tours in the ancient Mayan world: day tours, circuits, seasonal tours, backpack groups in Belize and Guatemala.
Target group of the organization: Adventure seekers, environmental lovers and a more affluent market.
Company culture: The rule of conduct in the office is easy going, everyone works daily in their departments and as an intern you really feel like your one of them. You discuss your work plan and progress with the director once a week. Generally a nice atmosphere to work in.
Number of employees: 11
Dress code: uniform
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? Reservations, operations, finance, marketing & sales, e-commerce and promotion.
I worked in E-commerce and Promotion.
Brief description of your daily activities: – Following up/updating information with partner companies: calling them, sending them emails and information they need.
– Assist in presentations for agencies and potential partners.
– Going on promotion (Cancun & Playa del Carmen) two times a week: visiting the travel agencies, hotels and dive shops.

Brief description of your company assignment: My personal assignment was doing research in how to promote the luxury tours within the luxury market. How the company can develop promotion tools in the future.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: The supervision was generally by the director of the company and the manager of the marketing and sales. In general very good, I was always able to ask if I had doubts.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? You should be able to work independently. Show initiative and be creative. You have to be social and having a good feeling for communication, open to hosting presentations, doing public relations and constantly be willing to sell the tours.
Additional company requirements for this placement? Microsoft Office, Phothoshop and Dreamweaver. (The company will learn you how to work with Photoshop and Dreamweaver)
English: Advanced
Spanish: Intermediate
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? When I got here I met a girl from Germany who is also an intern, and she told me that there was a room free in her apartment.
How did you go to work every day? Walking or the bus. The bus costs you 6 peso’s which is about EUR 0,35

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? No. On the internet it says that you need one, a special one for students who are doing their internship in Mexico. I did not had enough time to request a visa so I just went without, and at the airport everything was fine. As long as you are not staying 180 days or more it’s fine.
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents: I did not really need a lot of documents or what so ever. But just to arrange a credit card etc. Took me like 3/4 weeks.
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents?
Did you need certain vaccinations? Yes

Hepatitis A, DTP, Typhoid. Minimum 4 weeks in advance.

Language course

Did you take a language course before you started your placement? No
Would you recommend to have a language course prior to this placement? –

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 1050,00 (Amsterdam – Cancun return ticket by KLM)
Accommodation (monthly): € 350,00
Local transport (monthly): € 14,00
General costs of living (monthly): € 250,00
Costs of visa: €
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? USD 200,00 per month

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I did not.
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? Sometimes it did. The culture is very easy going, however they try not to be in the company. Sometimes you have to push them and keep asking for things.

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: Roxanne-grootveld@hotmail.com

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Besides your internship try to find an activity to do. For example take salsa classes or go to the gym and do some fitness. I took salsa classes which I really liked. In that way you will meet a lot of Mexican people which is really nice. Cancun is a nice city with a lot of nice and friendly people, but as a girl I would not recommend it to walk alone at night in the streets. And if you do, just be careful with your belongings and stuff you carry with you. Also, try to speak Spanish as much you can! The people really appreciate it.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Cancun is divided in two different areas: downtown and the hotel zone. In both areas you can find a lot of shopping malls and in the hotel zone of course the beautiful beaches and for the party animals, a lot of clubs. Cancun itself does not have a lot to offer to see. But in the surrounding (Yucatan Peninsula) you have lots of beautiful places. Chichen Itza, Tulum, Playa del Carmen, Rio Lagartos, Merida, Valladolid etc. Mexico is a beautiful country. Try to see as much as possible and enjoy it!

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link