African Ample Assistance

Placement organization

Name of organization: African Ample Assistance
Town/city: Cape Town
Country: Zuid-Afrika
Website: http://aaatravel.co.za/

Student

Name of student: Lena Heeb

Specialist area: ITTI
Placement period: 2015-2016

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Inbound tour operator
Organization’s activities: African Ample Assistance (AAA Travel) is an independent, inbound tour operator based in Hout Bay, Cape Town in South Africa and specializes in inbound travel.The company places great value on the personal contact with the customer and aims at guiding them through the whole customer journey from the first awareness to assembling the journey with all the dedication possible for the unique experience until the final purchase of the product.AAA Travel offers trips to South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique as well as to the newly introduced destination Madagascar.
Target group of the organization: Dutch market , +/- 55 years old
Company culture: African Ample Assistance places itself as an informal business yet with a highly professional attitude towards clients in order to be able offering the tailor made and unique holiday experience they strive for. The company strives to maintain a ‘small company’ reputation to ensure a close and personal relationship with the clients as well as with each other at the office.
Number of employees: 55
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? Mainly Sales and Marketing department with several different tasks in every department every now and then
Brief description of your daily activities: Keeping the social media up to date with catchy and interesting content. I also had to assist with bookings every now and then and was responsible for the correct route descriptions for clients who where travelling with their own rental car. Moreover, I had to keep the event calendar up to date and wrote marketing content for a travel agency in Germany which they were cooperating with.
Brief description of your company assignment: As part of my internship I wrote a report in which I researched the US travel outbound market to South Africa. This information is supposed to assist AAA Travel with expanding their products to the US American market and create a value fit of demand and supply.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: Every week there was a meeting with my supervisor scheduled to keep track of the things I was working on. Nevertheless, I was working independently.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? pro-active, independent, stress-proof, sociable
Additional company requirements for this placement? MS Office, writing skills, (Photoshop)
English: Advanced
French: Is a plus, but not required
German: Is a plus, but not required

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? company
How did you go to work every day? walking

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? yes, exchange visa
Do you need a work permit? no, visa is enough
How did you arrange the necessary documents: embassy
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? 8 weeks
Did you need certain vaccinations? Yes
How long in advance? 6 months

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): € 800
Accommodation (monthly): € 150
Local transport (monthly): € 200
General costs of living (monthly): € 280
Costs of visa: € 150
Costs of work permit: € 0
What did the company pay for/to you? The company offered a discounted accommodation right above the office

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I researched a lot on the internet and read books about do’s and don’ts
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? sometimes, everythings works a little slower to what I was used to

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: lena@heeb24.de

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: I would recommend renting a car with your roommate whilst you’re there. Makes travelling a lot more easier and you get to explore much more stuff!
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Literally SO much to do! You will never get bored – promise. Cape Town is simply amazing!

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link