Barrio Life

Placement organization

Name of organization: Barrio Life
Town/city: Barcelona
Country: Spanje
Website: https://www.barrio-life.nl/

Student

Name of student: Bo van Wijk

Specialist area: Tourism Management (NL)
Placement period: 2021-2022

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Touroperator
Organization’s activities: Customizing trips for all types of customers. The areas they are specialised in are Andalucia, Portugal and Morocco.
Target group of the organization: Eldery people, families and the individual traveler
Company culture: Informal and there is a family culture. It is a very nice place to work and the managers are really helpful. They focus a lot on your personal development.
Number of employees: 12
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes, they met all the agreements.

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working?

Purchase, Product development and a bit of Marketing.

Brief description of your daily activities: My daily tasks involve contacting partners, booking trips and working on marketing projects.
Brief description of your company assignment: I am researching the sustainability of the company and finding a way in which the company can make a better selection of accommodations that fit their goals.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: I learned a lot and got many opportunities to develop myself. They really focused on my growth individually, which I really appreciated.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Teamplayer, sociable, independent
Additional company requirements for this placement? Not really, but photoshop can be useful
English: Advanced
Spanish: Basic
French: Basic
German: Intermediate
Italian:
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Internet (Through a Facebook group)
How did you go to work every day? By foot

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? The basics of Spanish

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 200
Accommodation (monthly): € 400
Local transport (monthly): € 20
General costs of living (monthly): € 500
Costs of visa: € 0
Costs of work permit: € 0
What did the company pay for/to you? They paid me €200 each month

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I did some research on the internet.
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? Yes, it made it even better

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: vanwijkbo31@gmail.com

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: I would really recommend going on an internship abroad. It is an amazing experience in which you get to know yourself even more. I personally had the best time doing it as well!
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Barcelona is a great city with all possibilities. There is a beach, beautiful architecture and the nightlife is amazing!

Media