Takiri Travel

Placement organization

Name of organization: Takiri Travel
Town/city: Quito
Country: Ecuador
Website: https://www.takiritravel.com/

Student

Name of student: Iris van Abeelen

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

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Touroperator
Organization’s activities: Organising tours in Ecuador for High end. Such as Galapagos, Amazon, day trips.
Target group of the organization: High end
Company culture: It is an informal culture, there are 4 co-founders. They are flexible.
Number of employees: 8
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes and no

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working?

Sales, also I am working on a marketing plan.

Brief description of your daily activities: 2 days in the week I am working at the agency to sell tours. And to answer emails, also add all the information in a system. Other days, I am working at the office. I made a sales sheet for cruises and I am working on my marketing plan
Brief description of your company assignment: I make 2 marketing plans, because Takiri travel went together with another company.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: I found this internship by myself. It is a start-up company and I am the first intern, this is noticeable.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Independent, taking initiative, sociable, representable, teamplayer
Additional company requirements for this placement? SEO, Excel, writing skills
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? Company
How did you go to work every day? foot and public transport

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? yes, after 90 days you need to extend your tourist visa
Do you need a work permit? no
How did you arrange the necessary documents: Emigration office
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? 1 day
Did you need certain vaccinations? Yes
How long in advance? 2 months

Language course

Did you take a language course before you started your placement? Yes
Would you recommend to have a language course prior to this placement? It is always easy to speak the language but it is not nessecary for the placement. But it makes living here easier and more fun.

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 840
Accommodation (monthly): € 0
Local transport (monthly): € 9
General costs of living (monthly): € 300
Costs of visa: € 130
Costs of work permit: € 0
What did the company pay for/to you? I got the airport pick up. I am living for free in a house, which I share with 3 others. I am getting discount on meals.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
Reading blogs and experience of others
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: 152854@buas.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Keep your phone and money on your body. Pick pocking is a big thing. It is dark at 6 p.m. I only walk then streets I know and which are bussy. After 7.30 p.m. I only walk with locals otherwise you need to take a taxi. Watch out for dog poop.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: There is a lot to do in Quito if you are interesting in events. There are some nice parcs. I am living close at a gym which is for free. At Sunday from 9 a.m. till 2 p.m. cars are not allowed to drive in some streets. It is very nice to hire a bike and cycle then.
It is easy to travel from Quito to other places.

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