Intern at a dynamic and vibrant company in one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world! Our tourism internships allow you to discover where your passions and strengths lie whilst gaining exciting hands on work experience in an establishment of your choice. We collaborate with various travel companies and tour operators in the incredible city of Cape Town.
The best hospitality and tourism internships in Cape Town? We think so. We pride ourselves on delivering customised internship placements and on the ground support that offer life-changing, valuable professional experiences.
Voted the number one tourist destination to visit in 2014 by the New York Times, it is no surprise that Cape Town boasts a wide range of exciting and appealing tourism internships. We collaborate with a large number of backpackers, travel companies and adventure & tour operators that offer opportunities in reservations, guiding, operations, events, and general management.
Our tourism internships provide you with the opportunity to work in a welcoming environment that attracts people from all over the world, whilst gaining important skills to help you advance your career. As an intern in this field you will have the chance to attend exciting events, make influential contacts, and experience many of the incredible activities and attractions that the Western Cape is home to.
Read on for a full overview of the best tourism internships in Africa.
Here's what you can expect from the programme in a nutshell!
Of course, the list is much longer - but these are the skills our intern alumni reported back that they grew in the most!
We managed to grab some detailed interviews from previous interns on this programme, you can click on them below.
During my internship I was in close contact with my mentors and they always wanted to make sure if everything's okay or if they could do anything for me. I really appreciate the way they took care of me.
What might your programme in this career field look like? Here's how it has typically shaped up for our alumni!
Arrival & orientation. Introduction to Cape Town, your accommodation and your internship host organisation and colleagues.
Get stuck into your tourism internship placement and establish yourself with your organisation. Come to our free social events.
Enjoy a great work-life balance, getting out and about to see the sites alongside working hard on your internship.
Pick up more responsibility in your internship as you prove your capability. Enjoy regular activities in Cape Town outside of work. Come to another social!
Now you’re flying (metaphorically) at work, you’ll be more and more autonomous. Expect to pick up even more challenges!
Internship is going swimmingly, now go and do something crazy like swimming with some great white sharks or abseiling off of a mountain.
Regularly enjoy the benefits of Cape Town and at work, gather materials needed for portfolio (e.g. references from us and provider).
Putting the finishing touches to your internship and gathering feedback from us and your internship provider for use in your academic / career portfolio. Finalise paperwork for university (if needed)
Here's what others said when they applied. Some of these people came just for this career area, some mixed it with other career fields too...
What makes our internship programmes a worthwhile investment? Here's a swift overview of what you can expect!
We have two primary programmes to suit your needs. In some instances we also offer virtual placements.
You can come for as long as you need without paying any extra fees.You'll receive the same level of support.
We are 100% on your side. We guarantee every aspect of your trip with unrivalled promises.
Need to focus on a precise niche or two? No problem! Your programme can focus on your specialist areas.
We'll help you engage with the culture and personal benefits of being in a foreign country.
Save on travel and accommodation costs, pay a far lower fee. All while building your professional network.
We will handle all aspects of academic accreditation, including direct liaison with your tutors and academic staff.
We will write full reference letters for your placement(s) to optimise future employers' first impression of you.
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Here are some current or recent internship job opportunities in this career area. We do not publish all openings - so please contact us to hear about others.
Highly organised Fluent and English. A basic level of additional languages would be beneficial Confident telephone manner Ability to work well under pressure Previous experience in customer service would be beneficial
Get in touch.
We have worked very hard to streamline our process to make your experience easy, fun and highly rewarding personally and professionally. Flick through the steps below, or read about our process in more detail.
Getting your dream internship all starts with you saying hello! Just pop your details into our enquiry form and we'll reach out to schedule a conversation with you that we call a 'discovery call'.
In your discovery call, you can ask us any questions you still have. We'll talk about your options in the career fields you've told us you're interested in to help you imagine your placement and decide if our service is right for you.
If everything sounds good to you, complete your application to put into words your dream programme. This forms the basis of the 'design' of your customised placement and will be the primary framework against which we validate potentially suitable opportunities.
We maintain a large and varied network of the best organisations in Cape Town. We will identify the best potential fits for your programme goals and preferences and reach out on your behalf to assess those organisations for suitability (learn about their current projects and initiatives).
Once you've confirmed which placement offer you prefer, we'll start helping you plan the rest of your trip. We'll book your accommodation, help with your travel arrangements and provide extensive advice and information on how to get ready for your time in Cape Town. Your Bridging Gaps mentor will be on hand to make sure you're fully prepared for your placement.
Finally, every member of our team will move mountains to make sure you get what you came for and MORE! It's essential to us that you're safe, you're learning and growing in confidence and developing the most important skills for your future career.
Our programme fees are shown below, for a full description of our service offering please click to view the programme or a side-to-side comparison.
Comprehensive support
Visa & travel assist
Accommodation assistance
Social events & excursions
... and lots more
We've answered some specific questions about this internship programme below.
Cape Town consistently receives global praise and accolades year after year including the best city in the world, best cultural city, most beautiful African city among others. Being a global hub for tourism makes it the perfect location to gain practical experience within the tourism industry. Tourist attractions include culture trips, wine tours, wildlife experiences, outdoor activities, world-class beaches, gourmet cuisine and more.
If you are looking for jobs and careers that allow for regular travel, some of the top professions would be: A pilot, flight attendant, cruise ship worker, international consultant, foreign aid worker, international policy specialists, travel agent or tour operator.
Some of the higher paying tourism jobs include: luxury travel specialists, airline pilots, cruise ship directors, international sales and hotel management.
There are many career paths within the tourism industry. Some of these include travel agencies and advisements, airline and cruise ship workers, leisure, adventurer, voluntourism and historical and cultural travel.
Send it to us below and we will answer ASAP.
Hi, we're really sorry but we are no longer offering internship opportunities in this career field. However, we wish you the best with your search.