Gap Year for Grown Ups
Though the edges of the great recession freeze may be beginning to melt, its effects are still being felt on a global scale. While several areas such as employment and the housing market are still in recovery, savvy mature travellers have chosen to take advantage of the situation.
In recent years, grown up travellers have steadily been infiltrating the gap year scene, donning backpacks and exploring the world’s hidden sights alongside their younger companions. The recession has been a further boost for mature gap year travel, triggering a marked increase in the number of grown up travellers since the financial meltdown.
Leading insurance company, Insure and Go, have announced figures that show the number of polices it has sold to customers over 35 has risen by an impressive 23% in the last year. The increase is a 40% rise from figures recorded in 2007 and is ‘a sign that lots of people are using redundancy – or the threat of it – as a reason to take time out, travel the world and enjoy the really important things in life’ according to founder of Insure and go, Perry Wilson.*
Wilson also sees no immediate end to the new found popularity of mature gap year travel, predicting that the ‘ongoing economic uncertainty and concerns that unemployment will continue to rise during 2010’ will lead a further 250,000 to take a career break this year. The report has been followed by comments from Year Out Group Richard Oliver, in support of career break travel as a means to develop skills that will be useful in the workplace. *
Career breakers in search of the ideal mature travel company may look to well established UK leaders Gap Year for Grown Ups. Offering a range of trips and volunteer programmes in more than 40 destinations around the world, the company offer travellers the opportunity to do something more worthwhile with their time away. From voluntary work including teaching, wildlife conservation and community projects to adventurous off-the beaten track tours, Gap Year for Grown Ups give seasoned explorers an alternative break from the daily grind.
Travellers who wish to develop useful vocational skills can choose from a variety of learning programmes such as language courses, archaeology experiences, martial arts programmes and sailing instruction. There are also plenty of opportunities for career breakers, who want to use existing skills or try something new, from teaching English in Cambodia and touring the Best of Vietnam, to Whale Shark Conservation in Mozambique.
Mature travellers who would like to find out more about their career break options can take a look at the Gap Year for Grown Ups website here http://www.gapyearforgrownups.co.uk or give an experienced travel adviser a call on 01892 710881.
* Quotations and figures sourced from www.telegraph.co.uk/
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