Malaga South Experiences

Placement organization

Name of organization: Malaga South Experiences
Town/city: Malaga
Country: Spanje
Website: http://www.msemalaga.com

Student

Name of student: Ilvy van Opstal

Specialist area: Tourism Management (EN)
Placement period: 2019-2020

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Travel agency
Organization’s activities: Organizing trips and events for international students within Spain, Portugal, and Morocco.
Target group of the organization: International students
Company culture: There is not really a hierarchy. You are really part of the team and they try to give you as many responsibilities as you can handle. Everything is informal.
Number of employees: 16
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working?
Because the company is quite small there are not really departments. But mostly I do back-office work and a little bit of marketing.

Brief description of your daily activities: Mostly I have to prepare the trips. For this I have to make lists with all the information for the busses, make sure everyone travels with identification, make the room list, etc. Furthermore, I have to promote and share events on social media. I’m also responsible for the MSE VIP card (discount card for bars, restaurants, etc) and for the presentations that will be done for the weekend trips. Moreover, later in the placement you can work at the reception, so make the bookings. Every week is different, but these are the standard tasks.

Brief description of your company assignment: My company assignement is to make a competitor analysis.

Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: If you have any questions, they’re always willing to help you. You get a lot of freedom and they trust you that you do your tasks.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Flexible, sociable, stress-proof
Additional company requirements for this placement? Not necessary
English: Advanced
Spanish: Intermediate
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Internet
How did you go to work every day? By foot

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? Depends on the level of your Spanish

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 200
Accommodation (monthly): € 360
Local transport (monthly): € 0
General costs of living (monthly): € 350
Costs of visa: €
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? You don’t get any financial compensation. If you do your work well you get the opportunity to go on the trips for free.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
Not really. I’ve been to Spain a lot of times before. You do notice some little differences in culture, like the way they work, but nothing major.
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: ilvy.mse1@gmail.com

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: I would recommend learning Spanish if you’re level is not that high yet. If you don’t have time to learn it before your placement, there are also opportunities here in Malaga to follow classes in the evening. Furthermore, just enjoy the experience!
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: MSE offers many nice trips around Malaga so I would definitely recommend going on those trips. Within the city itself, it’s really nice to go out, go to the rooftops, go to Monte Victoria and go out for dinner a lot and of course enjoy the sun and the beach.

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