Caribbean Tourism Organization

Placement organization

Name of organization: Caribbean Tourism Organization
Town/city: Warrens
Country: Barbados
Website: http://www.onecaribbean.org/

Student

Name of student: Ingrid den Hollander

Specialist area: ITMC
Placement period: 2014-2015

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Regional tourism organization
Organization’s activities: The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) is an international organization that works to develop tourism to the Caribbean. The company attempts to do this in a sustainable manner, so that the Caribbean people will profit from it socially and economically. On a daily basis, CTO focuses on providing information and services to its partners.
Besides the headquarters in Barbados, CTO has offices in New York and in London. Overall, the Caribbean Tourism Organization is a large organization with different departments working towards the same goal. Examples of these separate departments are: Human Resource Management; Finance and Resource Management; Research and Information Technology.
Target group of the organization: Caribbean Islands (member countries)
Company culture: The company culture is a mixture, there are formal moments such as staff meetings, appointments, lectures. But there are informal moments too. Colleagues are mostly talking informally, but conversations with my supervisor are more formal.
Number of employees: 25
Dress code: formal
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? Research and Information Technology
Brief description of your daily activities: I assisted in developing a new product of CTO. The organization was working towards selling its research data to private companies, such as hotels and resorts. My tasks were a lot of research-related activities. I researched competing companies, promotion etc. Furthermore, I participated in a lot of meetings where we discussed what the final product would look like and how it would be promoted.
Brief description of your company assignment: As a specific assignment I was given the task to research the appropriate pricing of a research database and research reports.I researched the costs for CTO, competitor’s prices and what businesses would be willing to pay.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: The head of the research department was my supervisor, with whom I had contact via e-mail and during meetings.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? independent, teamplayer, flexible, representable
Additional company requirements for this placement? –
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? Via supervisor
How did you go to work every day? Bus

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? No
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents: –
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? –
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? Not necessary

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 800
Accommodation (monthly): € 300
Local transport (monthly): € 80
General costs of living (monthly): € 450
Costs of visa: € –
Costs of work permit: € –
What did the company pay for/to you? Nothing

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I didn’t really prepare much
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? The country’s culture is very nice, everyone is very friendly and relaxed. However, this relaxed attitude also influences the work pace a bit.

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: ingriddenhollander123@gmail.com

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Enjoy the different culture and beautiful weather. Try to meet local people.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Go to the different coasts, the East coast is very different from the more crowded West and South. Bridgetown and Oistins are nice, there are a lot of nice restaurants/bars around the island. Go snorkeling, surfing etc.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link