Ovation Portugal DMC

Placement organization

Name of organization: Ovation Portugal DMC
Town/city: Lisbon
Country: Portugal
Website: https://ovationdmc.com/destinations/portugal/

Student

Name of student: Barbara Faro de Nazaré

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

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Destination Management Company
Organization’s activities: They offer unparalleled local knowledge, expertise, creativity and contacts in all the major regions of Portugal (including the islands). Ovation Portugal draws on the experience of an expert local management team to operate high-touch incentive and corporate meeting programmes for national and international customers.
Target group of the organization: Agencies, associations, corporations

Company culture: It has a team-based culture with participation from all employees. My colleagues are collaborative, welcoming, and it is nice to have them to guide me during my internship. It is an informal and casual environment, and a hierarchy is applicable but sometimes not noticeable.
Number of employees: 4 in Lisbon
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working?
Operations Corporate

Brief description of your daily activities:
Support the DMC Project Managers both within the office and offsite:
a. Preparation of proposals,
b. Preparation of venue search,
c. Preparation of hotel reservations,
d. Preparation of restaurant bookings etc.,
e. Preparation of gala dinners,
f. Going to the airport to greet clients,
g. Greeting guests,
h. Monitoring suppliers during events,
i. Develop the database of client/services, restaurants, venues, tours and team building activities,
j. Pick up the telephone in the office. Suppliers or clients call,
k. Calling suppliers, where I had to ask several things about a venue,
l. Doing small tasks in the office. It differs from time to time depending on the kind of event.

Brief description of your company assignment: Research the local market of Meetings & Events and how the host company can create an opportunity and attract prospects in Portugal.

Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: I have been guided well and supervised by my colleagues. Unfortunately, my company supervisor couldn’t be at the office in the first two months due to personal reasons. During my internship, they all helped me when I had questions.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Team player, flexible, performable, creative, positive
Additional company requirements for this placement? MS Office
English: Intermediate
Other languages: Portuguese, intermediate

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? I did. I got suggestions from family friends and the company on which websites to look.
How did you go to work every day? Public Transport

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? Yes, only if your language level of Portuguese isn’t intermediate.

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 70
Accommodation (monthly): € 390
Local transport (monthly): € 40
General costs of living (monthly): € 300
Costs of visa: €
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? Financial compensation.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
Browsing through the internet about the Portuguese habits, local food and must-see places.
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: 172609@buas.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do:
Do’s
– Experience the Portuguese cuisine
– Visit Mercado da Ribeira, Time Out Market
– Wine tasting
– Get your personal public transport card called Viva Lisboa Card: I would recommend to use the ‘product’ Navegante Metropolitano for 40€ a month. Validity: Lisbon’s Metropolitan Area (consists of 18 municipalities).
– Always have some cash because at some places they don’t accept debit-/creditcards.
– Use the apps Bolt or Kapten. The cheaper versions of Uber.

Don’ts
– Don’t assume all people speak English
– Don’t go to ATM’s (Euronet) with your foreign bankcard, because they charge for withdrawing cash. Look for the ones with the Multibanco (MB) signs.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place:
– Visit Porto and Sintra (near Lisbon).
– Albufeira is a beautiful city to visit during warm weather.
– Nice beaches near Lisbon: Cascais and Costa da Caparica
– Rua Augusta is one of the best shopping street in Lisbon in the area Baixa-Chiado.
– Nice museums
– Night life places: Bairro Alto and Santos

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