BelAfrique

Placement organization

Name of organization: BelAfrique
Town/city: Paarl
Country: Zuid-Afrika
Website: http://www.belafrique.com

Name of student: Daphne de Jong

Specialist area: ITTI
Placement period: 2014-2015

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Tour Operator / Destination Management Company
Organization’s activities: BelAfrique is an inbound tour operator that organises tailor-made holidays. They do not only book a hotel but offer the client an experience. Moreover, BelAfrique is co-founder of the Together Trust non-profit organisation. BelAfrique works with travel agents as well as direct clients.
Target group of the organization: Mainly FITs (Foreign Individual/Independent Traveller)
Company culture: There is no hierarchy at all in the company, although if you have to make an important decision it is wise to discuss with someone beforehand. The communication within the office is informal, communication with the clients is formal.
Number of employees: 4
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? As BelAfrique is a small company, I did not work in a particular department.
Brief description of your daily activities: I assist in making quotations/budgets for the clients, preparing the necessary travel documents, requesting rates from suppliers, cancell provisionally made bookings when the wishes of the client change, finalising a file by making a financial document, contact with both clients and supplier etc. I have also attended several educationals/presentations from suppliers.
Brief description of your company assignment: My company assignment is to write a marketing-communication / promotion plan for 2015 – 2016. I researched the possibilities for BelAfrique to promote themselves on (a part of) the American market.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: Supervision is good. The office is small and my supervisor, Isabelle, is in the office most of the time. When I have a question or need help I can always ask her.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? independent, sociable and flexible
Additional company requirements for this placement? Excel is useful, but not necessary
English: Advanced
Spanish:
French: Basic
German:
Italian:
Other languages: Dutch and French are not necessary, but useful as BelAfrique has many French and Dutch speaking clients

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Gumtree.co.za
How did you go to work every day? By foot

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? Yes, exchange visa
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents: The South African Consulary in The Hague
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? About 2 months
Did you need certain vaccinations? Yes
How long in advance? I already had them

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? Only if your English skills are not very good

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 800
Accommodation (monthly): € 220
Local transport (monthly): € 20
General costs of living (monthly): € 250
Costs of visa: € 50 for the visa itself. There are some other costs involved such as a South African health insurance and a Certificate of Good Conduct (Verklaring Omtrent Gedrag)
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? Financial compensation of R1500 per month, which is currently about €115.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I did not really prepare on the country’s culture but I did read some information about South Africa beforehand.
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: dejong.daphne@outlook.com

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: A lot of people told me not to take the train, but I go to Cape Town by train and I did not experience any problems with it (so far). If you don’t feel safe doing this, you can rent a car (for example to go to Cape Town in the weekends) but this more expensive. Avoid walking alone in the dark and pay attention to your belongings as you normally would.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: There is a lot to do in and around Paarl/Cape Town. Going to the beach (in summer), winetastings, safaris, hiking, going out (more in Cape Town than in Paarl), weekends away to for example the Garden Route etc.

South Africa is beautiful and you will love it!

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link