Gap year becoming the 'snap year'?
10th May 2011
New research shows the gap year could fast become the 'snap year' as financial worries and job security puts travellers off longer trips
Remember the days when we could afford to take a year off and see the world, whether it was post-university, a mid-career break, or early retirement? Not any more.
According to research, it is just the 'better-off' school leavers and some early retire-es who take the plunge and travel the world for a whole twelve months.
As for the rest of us, according to LV=, an insurance company, we're taking less time to travel. They've seen a significant fall in year-long insurance policies, the most popular policies for gap-year travellers. They also found that just 5.6 per cent of people took out policies lasting more than four weeks.
LV= conducted a survey asking travellers about the length of their trips and found that the number of people taking an extended break, of four months or more, had fallen by 69% in the last five years.
The recent rise in tuition fees has meant that more students are realising they can't take gap years before or after university, due to the debt they'll receive from their studies and with country-wide job losses those with a passion for travel fear they'll may risk losing their jobs if they take an extended break.
John O'Roarke, insurance managing director at the company, said: "The findings show that with financial concerns at the forefront of British travellers' minds, long periods of overseas travel to far-flung destinations are no longer a feasible option for many people."
Tell us, would you take a career break or gap year now?
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