EcoColors Tours

Placement organization

Name of organization: EcoColors Tours
Town/city: Cancun
Country: Mexico
Website: http://ecotravelmexico.com

Student

Name of student: Noëlle Bouvrie

Specialist area: ITTI
Placement period: 2014-2015

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Tour operator
Organization’s activities: EcoColors Tours is a small sustainable tour operator that offers itineraries of 1, 3, 7 or more days which incorporate outstanding natural, cultural and adventure in the Riviera Maya and other parts of Mexico. Some tours are also operated in other parts of Central America such as Belize, Guatemala and even in Cuba.
Target group of the organization: Luxury market
Company culture: It is not really formal, and because the company is so small it feels like a family.
Number of employees: 18
Dress code: uniform
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? Ecommerce
Brief description of your daily activities: Working on the two websites in wordpress
Contacting agencies
Send emails to people via Tripadvisor
Help my colleague with Social media
Write blogs and parts for newsletters
Going on promotion once a week

Brief description of your company assignment: I have to write a marketing plan
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: Because the company was so small and we had quite a lot of work to do, Kenneth was always busy. Despite of that we had regular meetings during the week. We could always ask him anything.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? independent, flexible, taking initiative
Additional company requirements for this placement? SEO, writing skills
English: Intermediate
Spanish: Intermediate
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? via another intern
How did you go to work every day? bus or taxi

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? Yes
How long in advance? I had them already

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 always useful, but you can improve yourself a lot during the internship if you are willing to

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 720
Accommodation (monthly): € 200
Local transport (monthly): € 40
General costs of living (monthly): € 200
Costs of visa: €
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? 200 dollars a month. Payment was every two weeks, so each two weeks 100 dollars. But we got payed in pesos.

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: noellebouvrie@live.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Be careful with your belongings, I felt really safe in downtown but it is just like any other big city. And if you come in the hot months June, July, August I would recommend to find a room with A/C, a van will not be enough. Finally I would like to say I had a great time here, the people are really nice and I learned a lot at work. And very important, Cancun is amazing!
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Cancun does not have a lot of culture, but if you like going out you have a lot of clubs in the hotelzone. Also it is nice to try the many different delicious dishes and ‘snacks’ that the people prepare. Furthermore you can go to a mall (for example plaza las americas) for shopping, eating or going to the movies. For more questions you can always contact me.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link