Cities+Tours – Part of HamanGroup

Placement organization

Name of organization: Cities+Tours – Part of HamanGroup
Town/city: Stockholm
Country: Zweden
Website: http://www.citiestours.com

Name of student: Bob Jongkind

Specialist area: MTT
Placement period: 2015-2016

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Wholesale Touroperator
Organization’s activities: Haman Scandinavia has been providing travel arrangements for groups and individuals throughout Scandinavia since 1964. The primary clients are B2B travel wholesalers, tour operators, travel agencies, transport providers and non-profit associations and organizations.

Cities+Tours is a part of the Haman Scandinavia group department, offering B2B package tour solutions for nordic Tour Operators.
Target group of the organization: Leisure Groups.
Company culture: A nice, friendly and informal company culture with lots of fun during the work days. Every Friday afternoon there is a Fika in the company (=informal coffee&cake). Standard work hours, you start between 8.00 and 9.00 and finish between 17.00 and 18.00. The department is flexible so sometimes you can leave earlier, most important is that you make the agreed hours every month.
The company has a flat hierarchy structure.

Sometimes during the internship, you will be asked to represent the company/department, which involves more formal clothing.
Number of employees: 30 (5 in the department)
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes.

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? Cities+Tours

Cities+Tours is a Wholesaler with a special focus on packaging and selling B2B group tours to Scandinavian Tour Operators. Our goal is to offer packaged tours to the major European destinations and beyond, but also to the Nordic Area including Iceland, where we are already a very strong actor. Cities+Tours is part of the Haman Group.
Brief description of your daily activities: You help the whole department with product development, making timetables and descriptions, having contact with suppliers and participating in site inspections. You also help with preparing offers and bookings.
Brief description of your company assignment: Creating a new tour to a for Cities+Tours new destination. What offer our competitors, what kind of tours wants our target group, where is an hole with opportunities for us etc. Much research with as result a new tour to a new destination to sell.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: They give you more than enough freedom and responsibility, but they always keep an eye on your work. They will always help you with all your questions and listen very good to your ideas.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Stress-proof, Sociable, Teamplayer, Motivated, Responsible
Additional company requirements for this placement? MS Office Word and Excel. Writing skills (Tourplan – will be taught at the spot)
English: Advanced
Spanish:
French:
German: Basic
Italian:
Other languages: Any Nordic language is a bonus.

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane.

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? By Myself.
How did you go to work every day? Public Transport.

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? No.
Do you need a work permit? You need a Swedish Personal Number to stay and to work in the country (will be arranged at the spot).
How did you arrange the necessary documents: Tax Office, Handelsbanken (after arrival).
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? Of course it will be nice when you can follow the Swedish conversations, but it isn’t necessary.

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 240
Accommodation (monthly): € 420
Local transport (monthly): € 90
General costs of living (monthly): € 400
Costs of visa: €
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? Monthly financial compensation (SEK 5500 – per Augustus 2016) and monthly public transportation card.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
Read a lot on the internet about Sweden and the Swedish culture. The staff is very international though.
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: contact@blayur.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: The Swedish people are not so accessible as the Dutch people. That makes it sometimes harder to enjoy your time in the country. When you feel lonely, try to make friends and believe me your internship in Sweden will bring you a unforgettable experience with amazing memories for later. Keep that in your mind.

Let your supervisor know in case you would need help in any way.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: There is a lot to do in Stockholm and surroundings. Visiting many museums, enjoying drinks in many parcs and clubs and swim in one of the rivers in the middle of the city. Because the city is very beautiful it is amazing to walk in the evening in the tiny streets of Gamla Stan or along the water.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link