More young Britons are travelling the world before going into full time employment, according to figures.
Contrary to reports in the Observer newspaper which suggested that "cash-strapped" students are turning away from
gap years, a spokesman for a travel company said that the opposite was true.
David Stitt, managing director of Real Gap Experience, said that gap years remain a fast growing market.
He predicts that there will be more than 8,000 gap year, career break and volunteer holidays booked through his company this year – a 90 per cent increase on last year and a record number.
The company stated that the belief that money and future career concerns were putting young Britons off gap years is far from the truth.
It pointed to figures which reveal that students who take a constructive gap year are more likely to get better, higher paid jobs and are also more likely to complete their university course.
The company said that, while parents might have safety concerns regarding their children's gap years, it stressed that making sure they travelled with reputable companies meant they were less likely to face unknown factors than if they were travelling totally independently.
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