AsiaDirect

Placement organization

Name of organization: AsiaDirect
Town/city: Bangkok
Country: Thailand
Website: https://www.asiadirect.nl/

Student

Name of student: Lotte Zeegers

Specialist area: Tourism Management (NL)
Placement period: 2018-2019

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Touroperator
Organization’s activities: First, I must mention that I could not travel to Bangkok because of COVID-19. My internship was completely online.

The daily activities were differently due to corona. There was a lot of work of cancelling all the trips, flights, and offer the customers vouchers for 2021. Furthermore, AsiaDirect created a new website. Next to that, they kept posting and promoting their tours on Instagram and Facebook. Lastly, they daily worked with the back office system.
Target group of the organization: Dutch & Belgium travelers (25-65 years)
Company culture: AsiaDirect has employees from the Netherlands, Belgium, and Thailand. It is an informal, flat (horizontal) organization. The atmosphere is pleasant.
Number of employees: 15-20
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 & Product Development

Brief description of your daily activities: – Working with WordPress
– Downloading pictures at Shutterstock
– Monitoring social media channels; Facebook and Instagram
– Updating prices in the back office system GRIP
– (re-)Writing information related to blogs/marketing
Brief description of your company assignment: My company assignment was related to the aftersales. I had the responsibility to expand the aftersales process of AsiaDirect. With a self-made flowchart and link with GRIP I could motivate the new strategy.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: Due to the corona crisis, I communicated with my supervisor via Skype. We had daily contact with each other. I could reach my colleagues via Skype, mail, and WhatsApp. The conversations were pleasant. The (5/6 hours) time difference in Thailand never were an issue.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Independent, teamplayer, sociable, flexible, open-minded, and eager to learn.
Additional company requirements for this placement? Microsoft Word and writing skills
English: Basic
Spanish:
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Not applicable

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Not applicable
How did you go to work every day? Not applicable

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? Not applicable
Do you need a work permit? Not applicable
How did you arrange the necessary documents: Not applicable
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? Not applicable
Did you need certain vaccinations? No
How long in advance? Not applicable

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, this is not necessary. You can communicate in Dutch and English.

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € Not applicable
Accommodation (monthly): € Not applicable
Local transport (monthly): € Not applicable
General costs of living (monthly): € Not applicable
Costs of visa: € Not applicable
Costs of work permit: € Not applicable
What did the company pay for/to you? If I could travel to Bangkok, AsiaDirect would pay the accommodation.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
Not applicable
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? Not applicable

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: 182602@buas.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: If I could go to Bangkok I should eat at the streets. The local food in Bangkok is delicious!
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Recommended: cycling in Bangkok

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link