Spaniard Marcos Antelo has become the first entrepreneur on the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs Programme to have completed his exchange with the help of the North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC).
Marcos was matched, using the cross border exchange programme, with Viajar por Escocia Tours en espanol, offering excursions and tours around Scotland in Spanish.
The company, based in Edinburgh were looking for a content manager assistant who could create and update an online library to be a main source of training and documentation for the tourists guides of the company. In addition to this would be able to update outlines of city tours and trips around Scotland which the company regularly offers.
Marcos, in addition to the roles above also contributed to introduce audio-visual and multimedia technologies in some tours for example a projector in the “Ghost Tour and GPS techniques in the guide’s visits contents.
The exchange was originally intended to last for three months but after a successful start Marcos had his contract extended for another month at towards the end of his stay was acting as a quality manager, monitoring the performance of tourist guides and testing the customer response during and after the tours. The BIC caught up with him to see the programme had assisted.
How have you benefited during your stay in Scotland?
“During the exchange I had the opportunity to work with what was a relatively new sector for me.
“I have had the opportunity to see the day to day business: the provision of services, marketing and problem resolution. Occasionally, I was also responsible for the selection process of new staff, particularly of the tourist guides, and after my first month of stay, I was put in charge of their training.
“At the end of the stay, I was monitoring the performance of tourist guides and testing the customer response during and after the tours. In addition I also had the opportunity to participate in internal meetings with both guides and office staff. These regular meetings covered daily issues, the solution to different problems and short-medium term strategies.
“It was also a great experience to actively participate in these meetings, making me feel really involved in the project.”
What skills/knowledge have you shared with the company and likewise have gained.
“ I have really enjoyed the work and because of this it enabled me to complete the job with passion.
“The company has experienced significant and interesting changes in just a few months and in my humble opinion I do feel I have participated and contributed in some of these positive changes.
“I feel particularly proud about being given the responsibility to asses monitoring procedures as well as creating the new library.”
Would you recommend the Erasmus programme to others?
“Absolutely, I was the first person to join the programme and I have enjoyed every moment of it.
“I would like to think the company found it to be a success because they are already looking for another entrepreneur they can bring over for the summer.
“Apart from that, I have recommended the program to three friends which one of them is about to leave for Portugal and another is in the early stages.”
Do you feel like there was support during the whole process from initial contact to end?
“Definitely, it has been one of the strong points through which I have recommended the program. Compared with other programs to support entrepreneurs, in this case, the help I received is much more direct and personalised.”
