EcoColors Tours

Placement organization

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

Name of student: Chantal van den Boogaert

Specialist area: MT
Placement period: 2015-2016

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Touroperator
Organization’s activities: EcoColors Tours sells and operates sustainable tours in the categories adventure, culture and nature. Private Mexico Tours by EcoColors Tours sells luxury, tailor-made, private tours which are made with the thought of the desires and wishes of the client.
Target group of the organization: People who want to travel eco-friendly
Company culture: The company has an informal culture, it feels like a family. Because it´s a small company everybody knows eachother and at the office there are only about 15 people working.
Number of employees: 15-30
Dress code: uniform
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? At the office at the E-commerce department.
Brief description of your daily activities: – Public relations
– Electronic marketing
– Social media
– Website
– TripAdvisor
Brief description of your company assignment: Improving the promotion through Social Media
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: My supervisor is Kenneth Johnson, the director of the company. Once or twice a week we have a meeting to discuss our goals and our work activities.

The manager of the E-commerce department was Brenda Dugay, but since she left this is Allan Silva.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? independent, teamplayer, sociable, flexible, punctual, stress-proof
Additional company requirements for this placement? MS Office, HTML, Writing skills, SEO
English: Advanced
Spanish: Basic
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Myself
How did you go to work every day? By foot or by 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: n.v.t.
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? n.v.t.
Did you need certain vaccinations? Yes
How long in advance? 3 months 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? Yes, Spanish (more than you learn at school)

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 900
Accommodation (monthly): € 350
Local transport (monthly): € 35
General costs of living (monthly): € 200
Costs of visa: € n.v.t.
Costs of work permit: € n.v.t.
What did the company pay for/to you? Payment of $1,400 Mexican Pesos every 2 weeks (around €70-€75)

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
Websites and books.
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? Yes, the culture (in general and at work) is really different from ours.

Future students on placement

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

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Visit a lot of things while your here
Mayan sites:
– Chichen Itza (1 of the Seven New Wonders of the World)
– Uxmal (Puuc Style)
– Tulum (Only Mayan site at the Beach)
– Coba (Only Mayan pyramid you can still climb)

Islands:
– Isla Holbox
– Isla Mujeres
– Cozumel

Cities:
– Merida
– Campeche
– Bacalar

Parcs and other stuff
– Xcaret
– Rio Lagartos
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: – Hotel Zone
– Snorkeling
– Enjoy the beach
– Visit ancient Maya Cities
– Swim with whale sharks or turtles
– Shopping

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link