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: Sofie Steegh

Specialist area: MTT
Placement period: 2015-2016

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Touroperator
Organization’s activities: Inbound tour operator, focusing on the European and North American market, most clients are Dutch. They start to reach the Australian market. Guided and self-drive tailor made tours to South Africa and Namibia 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: Dutch, Belgium, English, american couples/familiy
Company culture: Informal
Number of employees: 5
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 it is a small company.
Brief description of your daily activities: – Make itineraries for clients
– Do cost calculations for the tours
– Make quote overviews for clients
-Make bookings for accommodation and activities
– Make the self-drive books for guests
– Write content for website and make adjustments
– Social Media
– Assist the office managers with whatever needs to be done
– Once a week working in a guest house
Brief description of your company assignment: I am creating 2 new tours to Botswana and Zambia, a standard and a luxury tour. So I am researching destinations, creating content for the website, writing the self-drive text and make the book, calculating the tour and contacting accommodation for information.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: The supervision is alright! I can always ask questions and everyone is willing to help. Once a month I have a meeting with my supervisor for feedback. Sometimes they don’t explain something so make sure they do!

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Independent, team player, sociable, accurate
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? The company has a apartment/room for you
How did you go to work every day? The apartment is part of the office

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? Yes, I extended my Visitors Visa one I arrived
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents: Through internet and home affairs in Durban
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? 2 months
Did you need certain vaccinations? Yes
How long in advance? I already had them

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): € 650,-
Accommodation (monthly): € –
Local transport (monthly): € –
General costs of living (monthly): € 300 euro
Costs of visa: € 80,-
Costs of work permit: € 300,- excluded activities and car
What did the company pay for/to you? Living allowance of ZAR 1000 and free accommodation.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I already visited the country twice so I did not prepare anything for this trip.
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: 150173@edu.nhtv.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Don’t go here if you like to be in a bigger city, party, shopping or go to the cinema. St. lucia is a small place where you can find several restaurants and bars but it is quiet. There is a lot to do in the area but it is only nature and beach
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: You can rent a car and go visit the beaches, go diving, snorkeling, swim with dolphins, go on fishing trips, horseback riding. There are a lot of safari destinations in the surroundings.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link