Tailor Made Safaris

Placement organization

Name of organization: Tailor Made Safaris
Town/city: St. Lucia
Country: Zuid-Afrika
Website: http://tailormadesafaris.co.za

Name of student: Tjitske Walsma

Specialist area: MT
Placement period: 2015-2016

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Tour operator
Organization’s activities: Inbound tour operator, focusing on the European and North American market, most clients are Dutch. Guided and self-drive tailor made tours to South Africa are offered. The concept is ‘drive less, experience more’, meaning the distances between the destinations are kept to a minimum and guests spend multiple days at each destination. Personal attention and quality are very important. Guests receive a South African phone, GPS and a full color and bound book with all the information they need.
Target group of the organization: Couples, families
Company culture: Informal
Number of employees: 6
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? There are no departments in the company because it is such a small company. This means you can do a lot of different things.
Brief description of your daily activities: – Make bookings for accommodation and activities
– Do cost calculations for the tours
– Write content for website and make adjustments
– Make the self-drive books for guests
– Make quotations for clients
– Facebook
– Assist the office managers with whatever needs to be done
– Once a week working in a guesthouse

Brief description of your company assignment: I am creating a new tour to Namibia, so I am researching destinations, creating content for the website, writing the self-drive text, calculating the tour and contacting accommodation.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: The supervision is great! I can always ask questions and everyone is willing to help. Once a month I have a meeting with my supervisor for feedback.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Independent, team player, sociable
Additional company requirements for this placement? MS Office
English: Advanced
Spanish:
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages: Dutch

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Accommodation is offered by the company
How did you go to work every day? The office is in the same house as my room

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? Yes, please contact me for more information
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents: embassy
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? 1-3 months
Did you need certain vaccinations? Yes
How long in advance? 1 month

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? No

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 700
Accommodation (monthly): € –
Local transport (monthly): € –
General costs of living (monthly): € 100, excluding activities. Depends on personal
Costs of visa: €
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? Financial compensation of ZAR 1000 and free accommodation.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I did some research on the internet
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? No

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: 144276@edu.nhtv.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: This is perfect for those looking for a great internship and learning experience while staying abroad.

If you like to go out or go shopping often, this is probably not the place for you. St. Lucia is very small and safe town with only a limited amount of restaurants and shops.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: There are many places you can visit! You can rent a car and go to one of the many beach or safari destination for a weekend.

In St. Lucia you can do sports, enjoy the nature, go to the beach or go out for a drink

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link