Waterproof Tours Suriname

Placement organization

Name of organization: Waterproof Tours Suriname
Town/city: Paramaribo
Country: Suriname
Website: https://www.waterproofsuriname.com/tours/

Student

Name of student: Fréderique van den Goorbergh

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

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Touroperator/ Destination Management Company
Organization’s activities: The company works together with various other touroperators and accommodations to make specialized vacations and trips for their customers.
Target group of the organization: Dutch couples, families and 50+
Company culture: It is a small office so we all work in the same room. We communicate via skype and the communication is quite informal. Because of communicating via skype, sometimes there are miscommunications. Therefore you have to be very clear.
There is a hierarchy structure because the boss always has the last word in taking decissions and she knows how she wants it.
Number of employees: 7
Dress code: formal
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? not all agreements

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working?

I am mainly working in the operations department but I have got various tasks within the company.

Brief description of your daily activities: My daily activities are:
Answering the phone, sending e-mails, making reservations, organizing the dolphin trips and processing data in the booking system.
Brief description of your company assignment: The company wants to get more knowledge about the sustainability of other touroperators and accommodations with which the company cooperate.
Waterproof Tours has obtained the Travelife certified certificate so it is important that partners are also sustainable so that it can be carried out to their guests.
To get more information about the sustainability of the partners I sent surveys and did some phone calls.
I have processed the information and made a new action plan for Waterproof Tours.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: Supervision could be better. However I got help when I needed it.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Multitasking, stressproof, independent, dealing with directness
Additional company requirements for this placement? Word, Excell, writing skills
English: Intermediate
Spanish:
French: Basic
German:
Italian:
Other languages: Dutch should be mother tongue. It should be handy if you can speak English and French on a basic level or a higher level.

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Via an online agency called Stagehuisvesting Suriname
How did you go to work every day? by bicycle

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? Yes, Machtiging tot kort verblijf
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents: Embassy in Amsterdam and Suriname
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? 3 months so be on time with the request of the visa
Did you need certain vaccinations? Yes
How long in advance? I already had the necessary vaccinations

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): € €900,-
Accommodation (monthly): € €265,-
Local transport (monthly): € €0,-
General costs of living (monthly): € €250,-
Costs of visa: € Around €400/500,-
Costs of work permit: € €0,-
What did the company pay for/to you? Every month I get €100,- of the company

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I didn’t do some research before I went to Suriname.
I only visited some sites about the country to get an impression.
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? No because it is a Dutch company

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: frederiquevdg@hotmail.com

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: It is very important to start on time with your visa. It takes a lot of time to arrange your visa because you need some other papers before the request. Since April 2019 you can arrange your visa online instead of going to the embassy in Amsterdam.
For more information go to the following websites:
https://www.consulaatsuriname.nl/
https://suriname.vfsevisa.com/suriname/online/home/index

If you want to ride a bike make sure you are on the left side of the road instead of the right side!
Do not walk alone in the evening, take a taxi by calling 1660/1680 or 1690. You can also download the app of 1660 or use the link below for 1690:
https://trackrit.tourtonnestaxi.com/index.php/mobiel/
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: If you would like to do some daily activities with your roomies I would recommend to follow some zumba lessons or aquafit lessons. Also there is a gym nearby called Connection gym.
For relaxing by the swimmingpool in the weekends you can go to different hotels like Torarica, Jacana and Zin.
My favorite restaurants are Jomax, Buitengewoon, Mi Rosso and Las Tias, Bar Zuid and Kokobana.
If you like to go out, you can go to Havana on Thursday and to Tequila on Friday and Saturday.

The next trips you have to do: Apia Paati, Fredberg, Bigi Pan and Expeditie Coesewijne.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link