Ecuatraveling

Placement organization

Name of organization: Ecuatraveling
Town/city: Quito
Country: Ecuador
Website: https://www.ecuatraveling.com

Student

Name of student: Lana Kuijper

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

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Tour operator
Organization’s activities: Sell tours and promote Ecuador in general as a country to travel to.
Colombitraveling is still in its starting phase.
Target group of the organization: Groups, couples, and solo travelers
Company culture: Hierarchical but very informal and young team.
Number of employees: 7
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working?

Marketing, sales, and operations

Brief description of your daily activities:
o Operations: Reservations, update information sheets
o Tour updates
o Website updates
o Sales
o Online and offline marketing
o Price quotations
o Blog writing
o Translating
o Assistance with B2B with Dutch companies
Helping at Hump day hostel

Brief description of your company assignment: I had to do research on why customers book via online booking platforms, such as TripAdvisor or GetYourGuide, while this is often more expensive.

Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: The supervision at Ecuatraveling was very good. Even when I had to work from home due to the Coronavirus, they kept in contact and were always willing to help me.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Flexible, team player, independent, open, eager te learn and social.
Additional company requirements for this placement? Online marketing experience
English: Advanced
Spanish: Intermediate
French: Basic
German: Basic
Italian: Basic
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Company and later Airbnb
How did you go to work every day? By foot and bus

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? Yes, upon arrival you get a 90 day visa stamp, then after 90 days you can extend your stay
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? Yes
How long in advance? A few months

Language course

Did you take a language course before you started your placement? Yes
Would you recommend to have a language course prior to this placement? Yes, it is very helpful to be able to speak some Spanish. Not only at work but also for daily activities.

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € €850,-
Accommodation (monthly): € €350,- euro (I shared my apartment with a friend)
Local transport (monthly): € I paid for the bus €0,40 per day
General costs of living (monthly): € €150,-
Costs of visa: €
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? They arranged accommodation for me where I could live for free. My first week of internship consisted of going on some of the tours they offer and all at their expense.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I didn’t
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: 172411@buas.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Watch your belongings and don’t use your phone on the street. On the bus in Quito try to put your bag on your belly, and maybe even your arm or hand on the zipper.

Despite this, enjoy Ecuador and all the beautiful things it has to offer!
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Go and explore the country as much as you can! In the weekends you can easily go to visit different places and when you have the Friday off you can even go to the coast. The Amazone, Canoa, and Papallacta were also such a nice experience. My last advice would be to go to the Galapagos Islands! Diving here is amazing and even if you are an inexperienced diver you can dive here.

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