Borneo Eco Tours SDN BHD

Placement organization

Name of organization: Borneo Eco Tours SDN BHD
Town/city: Kota Kinabalu
Country: Maleisië
Website: https://www.borneoecotours.com/

Student

Name of student: Bart Kerkhof

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

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Tour operator
Organization’s activities: Borneo Eco Tours is a Borneo Based tour operator. The company started in 1991. At Borneo Eco Tours they strive to uphold their sustainable development agenda. They offer trips and holidays in Sabah, Sarawak and some in Brunei. Sabah and Sarawak are Malaysian provinces on the island of Borneo. Borneo Eco Tours also operates and owns Sukau Rainforest Lodge in the Kinabatangan River area. Here they offer tourists the best wildlife experiences in the Bornean Rainforest while also keeping Ecology in mind. Borneo Eco Tours also strives to help local communities with their community-based tourism.
Target group of the organization: European and American tourists
Company culture: Borneo Eco Tour’s company culture is pretty formal. Proper office attire is necessary to work in the office. There is certainly a hierarchy of upper-management, lower management and employees. Head of the company is Mr Albert Teo. The is the founder of Borneo Eco Tours and still owns the company. His son Timothy Teo is taking over some of his father’s duties within the company. Both of these persons are highly respected.
Number of employees: 160
Dress code: formal
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working?

I have been working at the Tour Consultant Department. After 10 weeks I change to the HR and content creation department. This way I got more knowledge of several departments within Borneo Eco Tours.

Brief description of your daily activities: At the tour consultant department, my daily activities consisted of being in contact with potential guests and European and American Tour operators. Here I was planning, booking and organizing peoples holiday to Borneo. Here I mostly worked in Excel and the company’s software to check availability etcetera.
At the content creation and HR department, I have worked with Canva to create content for the company’s social media. Furthermore, I worked mostly with programs I have not used before. I also got the change to shoot some footage for the company in Borneo.

Brief description of your company assignment: My company assignment consisted of doing research for their product. Kiulu Valley is one of the community-based tourism projects of Borneo Eco Tours. I had to do research among people who went on those trips and what they liked and did not like. I had to write recommendations for Borneo Eco Tours to make those trips better for the tourists and for the community.

Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: My supervision during the internship went very good. They let me do my thing when I work for them. And if I had any questions I should not bother to ask. They were all really interested in me and why I chose Borneo Eco Tours. During the Lockdown in Malaysia, the supervision was a little harder, but still, my supervisor and I contacted each other on a weekly basis.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Socialble, flexible, performable, hard worker, knowledge of the field
Additional company requirements for this placement? Excel, Word, Canva, Social Media performance
English: Advanced

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? myself
How did you go to work every day? Grabtaxi

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? Yes actually you need a visa. But the company tells you to not get a visa and leave the country before your 90 day free visa expires. And then after 2 days abroad you are allowed back into Malaysia.
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents: not
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? not
Did you need certain vaccinations? Yes
How long in advance? I already had my vaccinations from previous trips.

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): € 800
Accommodation (monthly): € 150
Local transport (monthly): € 60
General costs of living (monthly): € 100
Costs of visa: € 0
Costs of work permit: € 0
What did the company pay for/to you? The company paid me 300 Ringgit per month. Which is about 60 Euros. This is enough to pay half of your housing in Kota Kinabalu.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
The company paid me 300 Ringgit every month. This is about 60 Euro’s so you can already pay half your housing from that money.
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? Yes

Future students on placement

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

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: If you have an open mindset, and if you are sociable you should consider going here. The company has such an inviting atmosphere. They are trying to help you a lot to teach you as much as possible. Furthermore, you get the chance to go on some trips that are organized by Borneo Eco Tours to get an understanding of the products they are selling.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Kota Kinabalu is an upcoming tourist destination. Is has many hostels and hotels where tourists can stay. It has modern shopping malls. But keep in mind that Kota Kinabalu is certainly not yet a modern city. Traditional practices are still very important here which makes it a special destination. There are tropical beaches and islands near Kota Kinabalu you could visit. Furthermore is Sabah, of course, beautiful with its rainforests and wildlife. Also, Brunei, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and other destinations are not far away and relatively cheap to fly to. I would really recommend that.

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