Goway Travel

Placement organization

Name of organization: Goway Travel
Town/city: Sydney
Country: Australië
Website: http://www.goway.com

Name of student: Marly Langeveld

Specialist area: MT
Placement period: 2014-2015

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Tour operator
Organization’s activities: Goway Travel organizes holidays to Australia and New Zealand.
Target group of the organization: European, North American and Latin market. Mostly couples (50+), but also a lot of families.
Company culture: Everybody is very friendly and open. There is a small hierarchy distance. The general managers office is almost always open and he often walks around the office to ask how everybody is doing.

Number of employees: 30
Dress code: formal
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? Reservations for the North American market.
My contract said I would start in the documents department to get to know the system, but I directly started with doing reservations, because it was so busy and I will stay here until the end of my internship.
Brief description of your daily activities: I have to enter new bookings and action amendments as requested.
Accommodations have to be confirmed at the end of the day. If an accommodation hasn’t confirmed at the end of the day, I have to call them and ask them to reply on the request asap.
If the hotel doesn’t have availability, I have to search for an alternative.
At the end of the day you have to send an update about your booking to the agent.

I have to attend product updates within the office and sometimes we go on site inspection to different hotels in Sydney, which is pretty fun and interesting.

Brief description of your company assignment: I have to research indigenous tourism (aboriginal) and its suitability to the European market.

Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: My supervisor is very nice, but she is really busy most of the time. She is always willing to answer your questions, but I usually go to one of my other colleagues with my questions because I know they can answer them as well.
You have to be very independent, but also just ask for help if you’re not sure about something.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Independent, Team Player, Stress-proof
Additional company requirements for this placement? MS Office
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? Myself. I have searched on several websites and finally found something on https://flatmates.com.au
How did you go to work every day? By foot. I live in the same street, so I only have to take the elevator and cross the street.

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? Yes, Working Holiday visa
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents: Through the Australian Government website
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? 2 days
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? No

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 1250
Accommodation (monthly): € 450
Local transport (monthly): € 40
General costs of living (monthly): € 400
Costs of visa: € 220
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? 200 dollars a week
Flight ticket

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
Not
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: marlylangeveld@gmail.com

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Do as much as you can in the weekends.

Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: There is so much to do in Sydney.
There are a lot of clubs, beaches and shops.
You have to visit the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge of course, but it is also nice to see some things outside the city.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link