Ulendo Travel Group

Placement organization

Name of organization: Ulendo Travel Group
Town/city: Lilongwe
Country: Malawi
Website: http://ulendo.net

Name of student: Sophie van Noort

Specialist area: ITTI
Placement period: 2016-2017

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Tour operator
Organization’s activities: Tour operator, inbound/domestic. travel agency. Airline
Target group of the organization: Mainly: European market, Domestic market,
Company culture: informal.
The boss is always right, the rest is equal, very open to pitch idea.
Number of employees: +-50
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? Marketing, Tours, Airline
Brief description of your daily activities: Entering rates, social media, website maintenance, helping with fairs and exhibitions. helping with guests. PR responsibilities.
Brief description of your company assignment: assist and advise with the set up of the new Ulendo cafe.
I wrote an advisory marketing report.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: very relaxed and informal. Open to ideas and easy to communicate with.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? flexible, team-player, independence, sociable
Additional company requirements for this placement? Ms office and good english writing skills
English: Advanced
Spanish:
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? The company arranged it
How did you go to work every day? most days people took me to the office or picked me up. If no-one was around, I would take a bicycle taxi.

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? yes, entering the country you have to pay visa costs
Do you need a work permit? No.
How did you arrange the necessary documents: Together with company. I paid upon arrival and they arranged the rest
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? none
Did you need certain vaccinations? Yes
How long in advance? at least 1 month prior departure

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): € 1000
Accommodation (monthly): € 0
Local transport (monthly): € 5 – Only on a few occasions I had to take a bicycle-taxi
General costs of living (monthly): € 350- Supermarkets are quite expensive
Costs of visa: € 75
Costs of work permit: € 0
What did the company pay for/to you? extended visa, housing, most of the transport. Company outings to the Lake we are paid for.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
read about it online and in previous intern reports in the library.
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: sophievannoort@gmail.com

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: – Go out and discover
– join locals in weekend outings
– Ask if you can join a flight to Likoma Island
– be open minded

Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Lilongwe is not vert exciting. Takes a while to get to know the good places. But it is very safe so you can walk around and discover it.
Visit the lake.
Go on safari in Zambia

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link