GROUND Asia

Placement organization

Name of organization: GROUND Asia
Town/city: Nonthaburi
Country: Thailand
Website: https://www.groundasia.com

Student

Name of student: Remy Florijn

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

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: travel organization
Organization’s activities: Organizing educational trips
Target group of the organization: Universities and high schools
Company culture: The organization of quite informal and the hierarchy is fairly flat
Number of employees: 30
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? They did

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working?
I am working in no department. The work I do is separated from any department. I report to either the general manager or the assistant general manager.

Brief description of your daily activities: Working on blog posts for the company’s website

Brief description of your company assignment: Conducting research on best practices of sustainable tourism and short-term medical missions.

Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: Overall they are very good to me. They are very flexible and give me a lot of freedom.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Flexiblility
Additional company requirements for this placement? writing skills
English: Advanced

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? company arranged it for me
How did you go to work every day? by foot

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? Yes, I am on a tourist visa since a work permit would take ages to get it
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents: I went to the embassy of Thailand in The Hague
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? it took me 4 days
Did you need certain vaccinations? Yes
How long in advance? I already had my 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): € 600
Accommodation (monthly): € 0
Local transport (monthly): € 40
General costs of living (monthly): € 300
Costs of visa: € 150
Costs of work permit: € 0
What did the company pay for/to you? The company paid for the rent of the studio and they paid me for 200USD per month in local currency

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I did not prepare too much for the culture. Important is to just get some general knowledge about the country before you arrive here and learn a few words
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? Not really

Future students on placement

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

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Get your metro cards when you arrive for both the BTS and the MRT
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: In Thailand there  is plenty to see and to do. Start with Bangkok and when you have time explore north and south Thailand.

Media