Backpacker Deals

Placement organization

Name of organization: Backpacker Deals
Town/city: Melbourne
Country: Australië
Website: https://www.backpackerdeals.com/

Student

Name of student: Merel Hinlopen

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

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Online Travel Agent
Organization’s activities: Backpacker Deals sells tours form other travel agents. Backpacker Deals does not have their own tours.
Target group of the organization: Backpackers
Company culture: Backpacker Deals is a small company. Before COVID-19 there were 3/4 employees. Backpacker Deals is an informal atmosphere and follows a flat organisational hierarchy.
Number of employees: 2
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working?

Digital marketing

Brief description of your daily activities: Accounts, Search engine optimalization, Search engine advertising, social media, Zendesk, find new business model and create loyalty program

Brief description of your company assignment: My company assignment consists of finding out what Tour operators find the best business model to work with post COVID-19.

Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: Since BPD is a small company Dinesh gives you a lot of responsability. Dinesh is a good supervisior. When I was still in Australia he and my other colleagues were a great help. Now that I work from home I’m still in good contact with Dinesh.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Flexible, stress-proof, independent, teamplayer
Additional company requirements for this placement? SEO, SEA, Excel, Writing skills
English: Advanced
Spanish: Basic

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

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

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? Yes, working holiday visa
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? If your English is not advanced would advice to take a language course

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 1300
Accommodation (monthly): € 840
Local transport (monthly): € 10
General costs of living (monthly): € 500
Costs of visa: € 275
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? Allowance of $200 per week

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I didn’t know what to expect but it is very similar to home.
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: 172233@buas.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Arrive a week early because of jetlag and just to get used to a new city. My plan was to travel after my internship was finished and I would definitely recommend that.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Melbourne is a great city. When I first got there I took a free guided tour this was good to get familiar with the city. Queen victoria market, Fitzroy, St kilda, Rooftop bars, A float Melbourne has lots to offer.

Media