Abercrombie & Kent

Placement organization

Name of organization: Abercrombie & Kent
Town/city: Melbourne
Country: Australië
Website: https://www.abercrombiekent.com.au/

Name of student: Max Tolsma

Specialist area: MT
Placement period: 2016-2017

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Tour Operator
Organization’s activities: Abercrombie & Kent is one of the world’s foremost luxurious tour operators with three main offices in UK, USA and Australia. The company focuses on luxury travel with a high level of customer experience. They offer fully customized holidays and journeys to each continent. Abercrombie & Kent has 52 offices worldwide, consisting of 49 local offices and three main offices with Destination Management Companies (DMC) and Tourism Outbound Companies (TOC).
Target group of the organization: Cruise Passengers, mainly between 40 – 60 years old
Company culture: Internal communication is very informal. Everyone is very relaxed and friendly to each other. However, external communication and clothing is formal.
Number of employees: 95
Dress code: formal
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? Cruise Division
Brief description of your daily activities: Throughout my internship I have mainly been dealing with the following tasks:

– Booking Guides for all ports
– Creating Run Sheets
– Proposals for innovative tours
– Putting data into Travel Studio
– Taking the phone
– Assisting in port calls
Brief description of your company assignment: Creating innovative tours for assigned ports
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: My supervisor was Toby Biddick, the Cruise Ambassador of Abercrombie & Kent, Akorn DMC. Toby is a very friendly man with a huge knowledge on Cruise. It has always been very interesting to hear information about the Cruise Industry from him. Generally, he always wants to make sure I enjoy my time within the team and in Melbourne as well. My other colleagues were very sympathetic as well. They were always wiling to have a quick chat with me to see if I was enjoying my time in Melbourne, and that really made me feel comfortable within the team.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? independent, team player, stress-proof, accurate, flexible, creative
Additional company requirements for this placement? MS Office, Excel
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? Internet and recommendations by friends
How did you go to work every day? by public transport

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? Yes, a working holiday visa is required
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents: Online via the website of the Australian Government http://www.australia.gov.au/
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? Make sure you do this about 2 months before departure, however i received the documents within a week
Did you need certain vaccinations? No
How long 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? It is recommendable in case your English is not really good

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 1200 euro
Accommodation (monthly): € 800 euro
Local transport (monthly): € 100 euro
General costs of living (monthly): € 600 euro
Costs of visa: € 300 euro
Costs of work permit: € –
What did the company pay for/to you? The company gave me 1200 AUD per month. However you need to pay tax which is 180 AUD in the month. So you get 1020 AUD per month.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I did some research online, but after all I did not really prepare for the country’s culture
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: 150733@edu.nhtv.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: I highly recommend this internship. The colleagues are very friendly and the tasks are challenging as well. Melbourne is a great city to live, as you have a lot of things to do, the vibes are great and the food is absolutely delicious.

Make sure you join a tour provided by the company in case you will be able to do one, this is a great experience. Furthermore it is recommendable to spend your days off well. Try to book a trip to Queensland and see the Great Barrier Reef
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Things you could see around Melbourne:

– The Great Ocean Road
– Yarra Valley
– Dandanong Ranges
– Phillip Island

Things to do in the city
– Explore the lovely suburbs
– Check out the graffiti lanes
– See the St Kilda Penguins

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link