At the end of August, I flew to India(Cochin) to do my internship. Of course I had to adjust to the Indian culture and way of life but it did not take long for me to feel at home there. Especially the family where I stayed during my first few days made me feel so welcome and looked after me so well that my first impression was very positive. I did my internship from the beginning of September to the end of November 2006. The organisation is a tour operator which sells special tours within southern India. On the first day of my internship my boss gave me my tasks and right from the beginning I did not feel like an interne but as a real member of the working team. The team from Marvel Tours supported me directly from the beginning and through the whole of my internship. My first task was to set up a website which I first thought could be boring, however it turned out to be a really interesting challenge. The framework was already done and my task was to do the marketing build up the website .I was allowed to do this task independently, but of course in agreement with my boss. I could voice my opinion and attended all of the meetings .I drew up questionnaires for the hotels considered how I could carry out the marketing concept and drew up the contracts. Apart from this I was very lucky because I had the possibility to go to the Kerala Travel Mart, one of the most important trade fairs for tourism in southern India. There I could start directly with my project. At the KTM ( Kerala Travel Mart) I met many interesting business people from all over the world. It was fantastic to experience the atmosphere there and take part in the many activities and parties.
To make headway with the website I had to make appointments with hotel managers where I could show them the concept and if possible make contracts with them. I visited not only the big hotels but also the small ones and the homestays. It was super that I now came out of the office and could drive to the hotels in Cochin, either by car or by motorbike. I got to know many very nice people and saw some wonderful hotels. The marketing was something new for me but I took the challenge and became better every time I had something new or different to do. Due to the fact that many hotels in Fort Cochin are near the sights I was able to do some sightseeing in my lunch breaks. After having visited the most important hotels in Cochin, my next task was to visit the hotels in Kerala. Some journeys I did by train ( this is quite something and you should experience it), and others I went by car. As one can imagine I had the possibility to see and experience many things, also to stay in many super hotels. Apart from this my boss didn't mind if I visited a national park or went to see a spice plantation.
It was a fantastic time in Cochin and especially the support and the wonderful people impressed me enormously. An important aspect of such an internship is that one is prepared to work hard anetimes work one ore two hours longer. Otherwise I had very good accommodation with an Indian family and had insight into their culture. We lived a little bit further away from Cochin, but I enjoyed my motorbike ride to Cochin through the backwaters every day. I can recommend this internship to anyone who wants to experience something new and to gain valuable experience for life. I am sure that this was not my last time in India.