May-2013
Getting inspired at the Reiswerk Excellent Student Congress in Turkey
#RSC13
Last Friday we went to Amsterdam Schiphol very early (05:00am) in the morning to take-off for Antalya. The reason for this trip was to attend the Reiswerk Excellent Student Congress for 4 days with a big group of excellent university tourism students and tourism professionals.
In Antalya (turkish Riviera) we got accommodation at the 5*star Hotel Titanic Deluxe in Belek. This was an amazing stay, since we were one of the first guests at this Super Deluxe All-Inclusive hotel – the waterslides were fun assured, and the food was amazingly delicious (especially the desserts)!
But let’s get to the point, it wasn’t all about the hotel. More important were the people who attended the congress and what they had to share with us.
Students of TIO University of Applied Sciences (from left to right: Niels van der Heijden, Renate Rigters, Annemay van den Heuvel, Maggie Luiten and Edgar Fluijt)
On the 1st day
The first person to speak during the congress was Frank Oostdam, who is director/chairman of ANVR (the dutch association of travelagents and touroperators). ‘Customers have to be loyal, but how loyal are the companies?’
Meaning we should change transaction into interaction with the customers.
After that we got shocked by the way the media can manipulate us during a media awareness training by Sebastiaan Labrie (actor/presenter) & Luc de Nijs (cameraman) who own Bicurious. ‘Everything you see on the news is being manipulated. Big, extreme and shocking sells.’
Besides the presentations all the students were part of a crisisteam, representing a touroperator. We had to think of solutions for crisis situations in Greece and we were monitored for the actions our team made.
Team Sunplugged (from left to right: Petra Horsch, Jaap Hoogesteger, Ellen Vorsselman, Christel te Veldhuis and Renate Rigters )
On the 2nd day
Senka Rebac, productmanager at Ecamp, explained about Crosscultural Communication. A subject that really interests me. ‘Take knowledge of the language, culture and habits. Also non-verbal communication is communication. What you see as normal in your country, might not be normal or even appreciated in other countries.’
Peter Boneschansker, who is the managing director/owner of Pyton Communication Services, spoke about the productmanager of the future. But, I have to say what inspired me most was his way of introduced himself. He asked someone in the audience to introduce him as he had spoken to many of us before the congress. This was THE way to see if people really listened to who he was when they met before the congress. I’ll definitely keep this in mind next time I have to introduce myself!
Luckily we also planned one excursion, so we went for a boattrip to the Green Canyon of Manavgat… B-E-AUTIFUL!
The water of the lake was fresh and we all had a fantastic time jumping of the second floor from the boat into the water…
The Green Canyon, Manavgat, Turkey
From left to right: Luc de Nijs, Renate Rigters and Sebastiaan Labrie
On the 3rd day
The collegetour with Steven van der Heijden, CEO at Tui Nederland, was held this day. Steven responded to my questions about how important sustainability is for Tui and how it’s possible to have less C02 emissions. ‘The smaller the legspace in the airplane, the lower the C02 emission is per person’.
In the afternoon after the collegetour, Lars Sang Mo Boom, expert online marketing at ANWB & owner of Boombuzztic, inspired us with his love for social media and new technology of the future. ‘Technology can’t and won’t be stopped.’He showed us a movie about how people thought about mobile phones 10 years ago…be amazed!
After the online marketing, another marketing presentation was held by Suzanne Al. She is Marketing Manager at Sunny Cars for the Nederlands & Belgium. We learned about communication and the marketing of products. ‘Make sure you show the DNA of the company. Be authentic and make sure your message is being shared (online).’
Last day
After having had a very busy weekend with many assignments and presentations the last day wasn’t the least. A final presentation from Petra Kok, Sales Manager at Tui Nederland, gave us the energy we needed for the last part of the congress. She spoke about networking, personal branding and sales. ‘Don’t play with your mobile phone while talking to someone and do not look for someone who might be more interesting than the one you are talking to during your conversation.’
The Sunplugged Team who won the 2nd price for best team (from left to right: Lars Sang Mo Boom, Renate Rigters, Ellen Vorsselman, Christel te Veldhuis, Petra Horsch and Jaap Hoogesteger)
Representing TIO University of Applied Sciences (from left to right: Melvin Mak, Edgar Fluijt, Annemay van den Heuvel, Renate Rigters, Maggie Luiten, Tonja Loomans and Niels van der Heijden)
About Renate Rigters
Ever since I left my home country I felt at home at any other place I went to. I enjoy getting to know more cultures by talking to strangers and hearing their philosophy about life. Speaking with gestures when you can not find a shared language, finding places only the locals go to and learn about their customs and values. Hanging out with local people makes me happy. The experience of every new place is a step out of your comfort zone where I like to wander around until it feels like a second home.
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It’s quite a lot to read, but what an interesting trip.
I like your stories babe! Going to follow your blog!
Geweldig leuk verslag Renate!