Gap Year travel – be safe

Jun 12
06:20

2008

Keith McGregor

Keith McGregor

  • Share this article on Facebook
  • Share this article on Twitter
  • Share this article on Linkedin

The very tragic news from Ecuador is an unwelcome reminder to us all that, as well as the undoubted life enriching experience that a gap year gives to most people, there will inevitably be some level of risk attached.

mediaimage
That is no reason not to take a gap year because similar accidents can and do happen closer to home but gap years do generally involve extended travel to remoter parts of the globe and thereby lies the problem. According to the FCO,Gap Year travel – be safe Articles over 200,000 people in the UK, of all ages, are now taking gap years or sabbaticals abroad with India, Peru and Tanzania currently the most popular places for gap year placement. The UK Government has also recently announced a £10 million scheme to offer 18 to 25 year old from less advantaged backgrounds the opportunity to undertake placements living and working in developing countries. This means that the trend to take a gap year is set to grow even more and one estimate puts the global market to be worth a staggering £11 billion pounds by 2011. So how do you reduce the potential risks involved? The FCO offers very useful advice on their website at www.fco.gov.uk/travel and they do keep up to date travel advice information on most, if not all countries. What is still surprising though is that 25% of all travellers go abroad without adequate travel insurance but why take this unnecessary risk? Although travel insurance will not prevent something happening to you, it can certainly help to reduce some of the stresses in the aftermath. Medical expenses including repatriation, loss of baggage, legal assistance, and curtailment are just some of the essential benefits that come with most policies and it is now possible to buy tailored policies from specialist providers to cover almost every combination of gap year.