African Ample Assistance Travel
Placement organization
Name of organization: African Ample Assistance Travel
Town/city: Hout Bay/ Cape Town
Country: Zuid-Afrika
Website: http://aaatravel.co.za/
Student
Name of student: Vivianne Coonen
Specialist area: MT
Placement period: 2018-2019
Information about placement organization
Type of organization: Inbound Tour Operator
Organization’s activities: AAA Travel is an independent, inbound tour operator. Also the handler for a lot of Dutch operators. They are experts in group travel, but also in individual travel.
Target group of the organization: Mostly Dutch Tour Operators
Company culture: The atmosphere in the company is really informal. You can dress how you would like and everyone is very laid-back towards eachother.
Number of employees: +/- 60
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes
Information about your placement
In which department(s) are you working?
The Marketing department, but there were also interns in Finance and Contracting.
Brief description of your daily activities: I have mainly been busy with searching for new markets and assisting with road show preparations.
Brief description of your company assignment: As someone of the marketing department went to Poland for over a month, my company assignment was: Analysing the Polish Market.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: Sone is the supervisor and also working in the Marketing department. She really makes sure that you are okay and does her job well.
Requirements for students on placement
What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Sociable, independent, flexible
Additional company requirements for this placement? MS Office (Powerpoint, Excel, Word)
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? First by an agency, but switched to an accommodation I found myself on the internet. I would suggest using GumTree.
How did you go to work every day? I went by car, however I could split the costs of renting a car. Or else, if you want to live in Cape Town, I would suggest to live in Sea Point and take the bus.
Visa / work permit / vaccinations
Do you need a visa? Yes, an unpaid internship visa.
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents: At the embassy you get a list of which documents are requierd
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? One month to get the documents and one month to wait for my visa.
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? No
The costs in euros
Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 1000
Accommodation (monthly): € 280
Local transport (monthly): € 180 for car and 50 for petrol
General costs of living (monthly): € 500 for food and a lot of activities
Costs of visa: € 35, but with all documents I think around 250-300
Costs of work permit: € N/A
What did the company pay for/to you? They took me for dinner once.
Culture
How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I did not because I was too busy arranging my visa.
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: viviannecoonen@hotmail.com
Other information
Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Please think rationally and be aware of your belongings. Nothing bad happened to me, but I heard multiple times that someone’s phone got stolen.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: There is so much to do in the surroundings! If you would like, I have got a list you could ask me for.
Also, you can go for dinner easily between the 7 and 10 euros.
Media
Youtube link Youtube placement video link