Hi everybody, and welcome to my senior internship blog! For my internship, I decided to accept the Travel Industry Sales Intern position at the Greater Phoenix Convention and Visitors Bureau in Downtown Phoenix, which I began on January 20, 2009. I am currently in my third week of my internship and so I thought it was time to reflect back and share with you what I have learnt during these past couple of weeks.
My first day at the Phoenix CVB was great and I received a very warm welcome by the whole staff. One of my supervisor's, Stephanie, showed me around the office, which is located on the sixth floor at the Arizona Center, and introduced me to the Travel Industry Sales Department employees and my other supervisors, Kimberly, Maria, and Ryan. All three ladies were very welcoming and seemed like great professionals. Stephanie then showed me my work station, which was in a room right next to all the other interns' stations. Thankfully I was able to recognize my other fellow interns from my classes at ASU, and I am so glad that Nicole and Natalie are interning with me. They have both been extremely helpful, making me feel comfortable and keeping me company! Thanks girls :)
As the week progressed, I attended staff meetings and my supervisors showed me how things work in the TIS department. Moreover, we had a letter writing workshop where we wrote letters to our respective representatives in the Arizona Senate, requesting that they do not privatize the AOT since its returns account for a good amount of the state's general fund. Other things I learnt during the week were how to use and update information into a program called D-3000, which is the CVB's database for member and client information. I also learnt how to make sales calls for future sales missions and how to mail out packages to domestic and international locations. Finally, on Friday, February 23 I accompanied Maria to my first sales mission, called 'Descoubre Phoenix' which focused on the Mexican market and was held at a small conference center in Downtown Phoenix.
So far I must say that my toughest adjustment to the 'real world' has been waking up every morning at 7-7:30 am and having to drive downtown but work has been a lot of fun and I am loving the professional ambiance that exists in the office!
If you guys want more information about the Greater Phoenix Convention & Visitors Bureau (GPCVB), then I encourage you to visit their website at http://www.visitphoenix.com/.
Hope you enjoyed reading my first blog, there are still more to come!
First of all, you're lucky... I start work at 7am!
ReplyDeleteIs there anyway you could explain what TIS and AOT stand for? I noticed you're talking about missions, how do those work?
Hey Alexi! This is exciting to hear about your internship because I notice very similar things I do here at Mesa CVB :) We also use D-3000 and are working with Descoubre. It sounds like you were able to jump right in and they allowed you to assist on projects which is exciting.
ReplyDeleteWow! It sounds like you are really liking the CVB. I actually did an internship there last semester and worked for Lisa in Housing! I really enjoyed all the different departments of the CVB and how they are able to pull together such large events and promote Phoenix as a destination. Are you going to be able to go on any FAM tours/ trips? Good luck and I hope the early mornings get easier for you!!
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