Explorica

Placement organization

Name of organization: Explorica
Town/city: London
Country: Groot-Brittannië
Website: http://www.explorica.com

Student

Name of student: Mari Nesse

Specialist area: Tourism Management (EN)
Placement period: 2018-2019

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Tour operator
Organization’s activities: Explorica offer educational tours for American and Canadian students.
Target group of the organization: American and Canadian students
Company culture: The company culture is quite informal. Everyone’s very friendly to eachother, and I don’t experience a hierarchy culture.
Number of employees: Around 15-20 at London office
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working?
Tour Director Department

Brief description of your daily activities: I work cloesly with the tour directors. I have to answer their questions, make sure they have all the required documents (passport, criminal record etc.), make sure they are prepared for their tour etc. I also have various administrative and financial tasks.
Brief description of your company assignment: I research how sustainable the tours of Explorica are.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: Very good. They are always there to help, and they give you enough challenges to develop yourself.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Independent, good written and verbal communication and problem-solving.
Additional company requirements for this placement? Excel, good written and verbal communication skills
English: Advanced
Spanish:
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Car

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Myself
How did you go to work every day? Walking or taking the bus

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? 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): € 100
Accommodation (monthly): € 650
Local transport (monthly): € 50-70
General costs of living (monthly): € 300
Costs of visa: €
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? 300£ every month (if you work the whole month)

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I did not prepare that much, as the British culture is quite similar to the Dutch culture. I was prepared that it might be a bit more formal, but that wasn’t the case at all.
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: 164529@buas.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Show initiative. Also, if they see that you can work independently, they will give you more responsibility and tasks.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: The office is located in Ealing, where there are a lot of restaurants and shopping possibilities. You can also take the underground to the center of London, where there is always something to do and see.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link