Diethelm Travel Sarawak

Placement organization

Name of organization: Diethelm Travel Sarawak
Town/city: Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo
Country: Maleisië
Website: http://www.diethelmtravel.com

Student

Name of student: Shulaisha Baboeram

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

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Tour Operator
Organization’s activities: Diethelm Travel is an inbound tour operator and offers many services such as:

• Hotels: negotiating, contracting and reservation services from small boutique resort to large luxury hotels.
• Tours: creating distinctive, experience-led and innovative products across the region, including tailor-made tour
• Day tours: an extensive range of options, from nature to culture and, from family fun to extreme adventure activities
• Cruise services: a wide choice of sailing experiences, from cruising along rivers to yachting on tropical seas, ranging from classic yachts to sleek modern boats
• Transfers: limousine, private aircraft, helicopter, boat and coach
• Guides and airport representatives: highly experienced guides and airport representatives.
• Ticketing (DITS): air, rail, boat, bus, theme parks and attractions
• Events (Diethelm Events): a dynamic event division with a demonstrated reputation for creativity and innovation
Target group of the organization: German, UK and US market
Company culture: I think the company’s culture is very relaxed, flexible and I would not say it is formal. The people working at the office are very friendly and caring. However, you must show initiative in order to get more tasks.
Number of employees: There are 9 people working at the 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?

Inbound department which means I have tasks on the Operations department and the Reservations department

Brief description of your daily activities: Assisting their inbound and operation reservations and operation section to assist them in general office administration such as: reservation bookings, filing, answering to inquiries, translating and checking / improving of schedules for the guides and drivers.
Brief description of your company assignment: Creating a new product for Diethelm Sarawak
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: Not much contact between supervisor and I as tasks are given by other colleagues. However, when contact is needed the supervisor is always helpful.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Sociable, independent, flexible
Additional company requirements for this placement? Excel skills, MS office
English: Advanced
Spanish:
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: 2 times by airplane.

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Company provided me with free accommodation, however it was too basic for me. So, I found it via Facebook.
How did you go to work every day? By car (Grab)

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? Yes, Student Visit Pass
Do you need a work permit? –
How did you arrange the necessary documents: The company provided and arranged everything
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? After 2 weeks in Kuching I got the visa.
Did you need certain vaccinations? Yes
How long in advance? At least 8 years ago, but that’s because I have visited Malaysia several times

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? If you want to be able to do fieldwork (join tours), it is recommended to speak German on an advanced level.

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 900 Euros
Accommodation (monthly): € 400 Euros (or free if you choose staff house)
Local transport (monthly): € 60 Euros
General costs of living (monthly): € 300 Euros
Costs of visa: € –
Costs of work permit: € –
What did the company pay for/to you? Company paid for necessary documents, provide you with free basic accommodation (fan, no WiFi, shared house) Every two weeks we have a staff lunch which means one free meal and drink.

Monthly allowance: 700 MYR = 150 Eur

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I have been to Malaysia several times so I was familiar with the culture already. Therefore, I didn’t feel the need to prepare for the culture.
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: 162231@buas.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Be sociable, flexible and open-minded
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Enjoy cheap food and drinks, go to malls for shopping, do karaoke, go to the movies, party on the weekends etc.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link