Nordic Unique Travels

Placement organization

Name of organization: Nordic Unique Travels
Town/city: Rovaniemi
Country: Finland
Website: https://nordictravels.eu/en/

Student

Name of student: Anna Strassberger

Specialist area: Tourism Management (EN)
Placement period: 2020-2021

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: travel agency
Organization’s activities: This company offers individualized packaged holidays based on the customer’s wishes. They work together with the local hotels and tour operators and have their own tour guides. The main target market right now due to corona is Europe (Germany, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Italy) but normally they also advertise to the Chinese market.
Target group of the organization: The main target market right now due to corona is Europe (Germany, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Italy) but normally they also advertise to the Chinese market.
Company culture: The company culture is more informal than formal but due to corona I work in the home office, so the main communication channel is WhatsApp. Sini is the boss of the company and she makes the decision and gives me assignments. But I mainly work with Elisabeth, we do the DACH-market together, and Mickey, who takes care of the bookings.
Due to the home office situation I don’t know the other colleagues very well but everyone seems nice and always helps whenever I have a question.
Number of employees: 10
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Instead of the lunch we would normally get, we get lunch money. Otherwise yes.

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working?

I work in the Sales department and take care of the German speaking market.

Brief description of your daily activities: My tasks are checking incoming messages on Evaneos and mails and answering the questions and requests by the clients. I plan their trips (hotel+activities) based on their wishes and budget and work with the clients until it fits. At the moment I do more postponements and cancellations though and little to no new requests are coming in. I also do assignments that Sini is giving to me and work on the company and the university assignments.
Brief description of your company assignment: For my company assignment I have to analyze the different target markets, their development during corona and an advise for the future of tourism in Finland (marketing wise).
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: I am barely in contact with my supervisor since I don’t work in the office and don’t usually contact her about my work. I send daily reports to my boss about the work I did that day but my main contact person is my Austrian colleague Elisabeth that I work with.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? flexible, patient, disciplined, pro-active
Additional company requirements for this placement? basic MS office skills, writing skills in English and first language
English: Advanced
German: Mother tongue
Other languages: advanced skill in language depending on your market

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: by foot or bike

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? through facebook
How did you go to work every day? by foot in the beginning, now home office

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? maybe finish for fun, but not necessary

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € approx. 300€ (arrival+return)
Accommodation (monthly): € 450€, but possibility to stay in free accommodation by the company
Local transport (monthly): € 0
General costs of living (monthly): € 200€-400€, depends on food and travelling
Costs of visa: € 0
Costs of work permit: € 0
What did the company pay for/to you? free accommodation, but now I get 75€ each month because I arranged my own apartment
normally free meals, but now 10€ each day I send a report about the work I did
if tours are happening, possibility to join but no tours at the moment

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I did not. Finns are incredibly welcoming, helpful and generous.
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: 182250@buas.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Lapland is a great place and you should definitely check out the nature and try to get to know the locals. Since I do home office, I value my social life and my friends here a lot more. There is barely any snow anymore in the Netherlands or Germany and it is so special to be surrounded by it. Bring warm clothes and many layers because it can get cold but it is worth it. Visit Santa Claus, spend time with huskies, in the snow and meet reindeers when they are randomly standing on the street. I think I got a little bit unlucky with the timing since there is less to do now but that should improve soon enough. But the country and the people are already great enough.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: There is one student bar where the beer is affordable (not good but the price is ok), one night club, beautiful landscapes and many possibilities to spend outdoor. Two universities, many students and a nice student life. Easy to travel around by bus, train or when renting a car. The ice hockey games at the Lappi arena are fun to watch, there also is a cinema, two malls, museums, sauna, and when the lakes are frozen you can go ice skating. The best thing is the nature, so you can go on many hikes, or rent skis, snowboards and snowshoes.

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