One of the most important factions of tourism industry is that of travel agencies. In particular, travel agencies are responsible for combining several services in conjunction with tourism. In addition to dealing with tourists, most travel agencies are devoted in making travel arrangements for business and recreational travelers. Hence, as the tourism industry is profoundly flourishing, travel agencies have also become a good starting point to get acquainted with one of the greatest contributors for the improvement within the tourism industry.
You cannot learn anything within the tourism industry unless you experience it for yourself. Hence, being able to embark on an internship is one definitive way to get a hold of the things that a person wanted to know about the industry that he or she is interested about. This is especially true for me because the internship I had was very interesting and rather difficult in some ways. Interesting because I have learned many things about the realities of working, and difficult because along the process of learning things about my future profession, I have also come to the realization that I should apply all the necessary skills needed in order to face everyday work, and be able to relate with people of diverse background in order to succeed in the field of my choice. My internship in a travel agency provided me with invaluable experiences that I believe would be able to prepare me in advancing my career life.
I spent my internship in a travel agency known as Anex Tour in Turkey. Basically, the company organizes tours for tourists coming from Russia, who are very much interested in visiting various countries, and is also responsible for giving clients specific travel packages that would fit their travel and tour needs, including hotel accommodations and places to be visited among others.
When I first arrived at the company, the first thing I noticed was that the people are too immersed with their responsibilities. One person was talking over the phone, the other was going over some details in a computer, and another was speaking with another employee, perhaps coordinating some work-related information. Upon seeing these things, my panicky emotions were running in high gear. I wanted to turn around because I was, in a way, intimidated by the preconceptions that have popped into my mind like I will not be able to live up to the standards of the company, or that I will not be able to get along with the employees because they are so busy with their work, they have not even noticed that I am just standing there waiting for somebody to assist me. Perhaps I was too busy concentrating on my thoughts that I did not notice a (man woman) approached me until the person tapped me in the shoulder, which took me by surprise. With a bit of introduction, I learned that (his her) name is (name of supervisor). (He She) was the person who assisted me throughout my internship at Anex Tours, and was the one who assessed my performance during my time at the company.
Eventually, (he she) introduced me to the employees, which in some way have lessened my feeling of nervousness. The people were friendly and overtime I managed to befriend them. (He She) also assisted me in familiarizing myself with the departments that make up the company.
I quickly learned to adapt with my new surroundings. The first week was especially the hardest for me as I was not familiar with the activities of the company yet, and I still have a lot to learn about how to make reservations, study key destinations, regular flights or cruises, and at the same time get a hold of the clients that chose the company for their tour services. At first, my mind resisted the new environment and responsibilities, and in one way or another wished that I would be assigned in a department where few responsibilities are assigned. But soon enough, I realized that if I will not change my mind set I will not succeed my internship, which also means that I am not ready for the challenges that the industry would lay upon me in the near future. Nevertheless, I realized that if I keep myself away from learning new things I would not be able to live up with my self-expectations. Hence, I learned to look at things in different perspectives, and embraced the difficulties at work, which made my internship time much easier and more venerating. Learning to adapt to new environments is one of the best lessons that my internship with Anex tours have introduced me. As I have always been inclined within the classroom setting, being able to work in a travel agency taught me to adjust in accordance to the professional setting, and be respectful of the culture of the workplace that I am in. The ability to adapt to new situation is one skill that would surely help me in my personal and professional life.
As an intern for Anex Tours I had the unique opportunity to work side-by-side with very experienced travel service team. Rather than working with just a single division observing employees work, the heads of the hotel immersed me in areas including management, general office works, reception and the likes. I was treated like I was a full-time employee at the company with real responsibilities that are vital for the groups success. What I learned immediately about Anex tours was that each day significantly differed from the previous one that is I came across people of diverse background, experience varying responsibilities, and at times do routine tasks such as reporting, answering the phone calls, organizing brochures, etc. Being flexible and open to change was the key attitude in order to fit well into this kind people oriented organization.
One of the most interesting aspects about my internship at Anex tours was that I was able to work with people of diverse background. As a travel agency specializing in taking tourists from one country to another, most of the time I was dealing with people from different cultures. One of the first days I was there, I was taking inquiries from interested tourists from varying countries, and at times I was dealing with difficult people. This particular experience challenged my interpersonal communication skills and my ability to answer inquiries. Yet, instead of being discouraged with my limitations when it comes to communicating, I used this opportunity to improve on my communication skills and likewise associate myself with people from differing backgrounds. My internship helped me become more patient in dealing with other people I learned how to stay calm and discuss things although I may not particularly like the person I am talking to. Likewise, I managed to overcome my fear in dealing with people.
As a professional working environment, Anex Tours have also taught me to become more confident about myself through being attentive of my attire, and how I present myself to others. Granting that I am a part of a company that is often dealing with clients, it is an imperative to be presentable and outspoken. By the time I started my internship with Anex Tours I became more conscious about my actuations, and learned to exemplify professionalism. During professional engagements I always see to it that I am dressed according to the requirements of the occasion. On the outset this attention towards being presentable may appear as superficial. However, upon closer inspection my experiences with Anex Tours has taught me that dressing well is somehow representative of the work culture that I am concentrating at, and in one way or another illumines the command of the company to implement policies that are beneficial for employers, employees and clients.
Another thing that I have learned from my internship experience is that one should tackle every task with enthusiasm and accomplish things with a positive attitude. Considering that I was an intern, I was initially given grunt works to finish, like making photocopies and the likes, which is a common practice in many companies. Such tasks appeared a bit annoying at the beginning because prior to my internship I have always set the expectation that I would be assigned in responsibilities that would compliment my understanding about travel agenciesdocumentations, client relation, etc. However, by the time that I started my internship, I learned that I have to start from the bottom in order to learn every aspect of the companys operations. Aside from these, I have also experienced working extra hours beyond the required number of hours for interns due to stiff deadlines that the company had to beat. However, instead of being close-minded about these changes in expected responsibilities and appearing inflexible, I have learned that the key to accomplishing things like these is to start working on things with the same level of enthusiasm and professionalism even if they are from ones set personal expectations. Having the right attitude towards things despite issues and glitches allowed me to become more persistent about my work, and made me aware of the importance of flexibility. Working long hours became especially helpful in developing time management skills.
Halfway through my internship at Anex tours, I was then able to take part in the overall process of the company in terms of tour processing and information dissemination among diverse tourists to name. Of course, problems were inevitable with this kind of working environment. There were days when the company fall short of client expectations, but rather than blaming things from one person to another, I saw how the employees work together in order to resolve issues, and collaborate things with clients in order to fix things. I found this very inspiring because it enabled me to realize how important team work and back up plans were for the success of company projects, and achieving desired results.
I have also experienced the peak season wherein tourist inquiries were pouring in. As everybody else were busy with the processing and were overloaded with individual tasks, there were instances that I found myself without any mentors, and was left with little or no supervision. Instead of waiting for tasks to be assigned, I tried volunteering in accomplishing things that I think would somehow lessen the office works such as handling phone calls and arranging important documents. I took the initiative to do such things in order to be able to familiarize myself more with the job and at the same time communicate with the employees so that I could learn new things from them.
Whenever I feel that there was nothing else to do on my own, I tried offering my help among employees who were receptive of my help, or in some cases I approach the supervisor and ask for some activities where I could be able to devote my energy during downtime. However, if there was nothing else to work on, I always kept myself busy by doing online researches or reading past company resources available over their database. By doing so, I am adding more knowledge about the company and the industry. Having the initiative at work is one thing that I value the most as this attitude helps me in the continuum of my learning process. By having the initiative, I somehow exemplified my willingness to learn and my enthusiasm to take part in finishing assigned tasks for the success of the group.
Anex Tours also gave me the opportunity to participate in company meetings along with the employees. Through several meetings, I have come in contact with some of the people who facilitate the companys operations, and acquire company materials that are especially helpful for reviews. These instances tested my listening skills and keen eye for details as I have to listen intently while taking notes about the details of the meetings, which I could use for future references. Other than attending company meetings, or at times company events, I also had meetings with my supervisor to keep (him her) abreast of my activities. I always took this one-on-one meeting with the supervisor as an opportunity to raise inquiries. Based from these meetings with my supervisors, I have learned that while employers expect interns to accomplish certain levels of work, they are not expecting interns to know everything. Hence, meeting with the supervisor was always an opportunity for me to seek advice and raise questions whenever I encountered things at work that I am not familiar with. In some meetings, my supervisor also shared about some of his experiences in the agency, and gave me tips on how to succeed with my internship. It was also through these meetings that I was able to keep track of my internship performance, whether I was keeping up with the changes in the company or not.
By the end of my internship at Anex tours, I was able to establish friendship among the employees and acquired various skills that would be invaluable during my future practice. As an intern for Anex tours I had the unique opportunity to work side-by-side with very experienced travel service-oriented team. Rather than working with just a single division observing employees work, the heads of the company immersed me in areas including management, general office works, reception and the likes. I was treated like I was a full-time employee at the company with real responsibilities that are vital for the success of the agency. The experience also provided me with the opportunity to apply my own knowledge on the real world environment of travelling agencies, and increased my work ethic and my critical thinking skills, which in the long run would help me excel in large number of varying tourism-related organizations.
Another valuable lesson that my internship with Anex Tourist taught me was to enjoy my work. Despite experiencing difficulties, my internship taught me not to become too uptight with what I do. I should have fun while working and learning at the same time, as enjoying things along the way is one way to effectively learn things. My supervisor also shared to me that if I am enjoying what I do, I will not have any trouble accepting challenges that would be laid upon me. I later found out that (his her) advice is especially true because by the time I already got the hang of my work at the agency, I realized that things are a lot easier when I avoided negative perceptions, and I already forgot how time passed by so easily that I just found I am already through with my internship.
Perhaps the real-world bonus with this particular internship experience of mine is that it served as a great means for me to learn about the roles that I have to take once I am already working on the tourism industry and appreciate what it takes to manage things accordingly. Probably the greatest benefit that this internship has endowed me was the exposure I had with the industry that I am especially fond of, and working with professional people that have taught me significant things about the professional practice. Nevertheless, this experience was extremely beneficial in that I learned many transferable skills, and realized my full potentials not only as an individual but also as a future professional. As for my advice for those who are about to do a similar internship as mine, it is an imperative that they are familiar with what the organization does before they arrive in there. This will prepare them for the job and will immediately end up learning more. It is also important that one should constantly think about things that one could offer to the organization. This is because interns are not just there to learn about what the organization can contribute for their development but also contribute to the organizations work through personal experiences, and creating initiatives. One of the most valuable skills that my internship offered is how to effectively collaborate with other people and establish networks.
With the things I acquired from my internship, it is my conviction that what I was able to learn would later on be translated into more productive work that would profoundly contribute for the furtherance of my career decision, and would enable me to leave tangible accomplishments with my current education, and more importantly during my future practice.
Based from my personal experience, I have proven that internship is a very important aspect in the life of any college student as it would prepare a person for the world of real work. Thus, internships in general should be an integral part of a students academic career. To be able to get relevant experience, students should be able to spend their internship with employers who share the same kind of work that they are practicing, which would serve as practice ground in acquiring skills that are necessary in real work. Likewise, internship is definitive way to test ones skills, have an insight about the prerequisites needed for having a strong application, and more importantly develop network of professional contacts that would be helpful for future opportunities and references that is especially helpful in securing strong applications in the future.
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