• 25 per cent increase in round-the-world airfares with five stops or more
• Off-the-beaten track destinations boom
• Move towards authentic travel, seeing more of a destination, not just ticking countries off a list
• Social media 'talkability' key part of gap year experience

Thousands of UK students will receive their A-level results this week (Thursday August 14) which heralds a mass exodus of young travellers on pre and post-uni gap year trips. 

STA Travel, the world's largest student and youth travel company, has seen sales of round-the-world airfares soar by 25 per cent compared to this time last year as young people head off to explore, work and live overseas.

Glen Mintrim, STA Travel's UK managing director, said: “The job market is still very tough for young people in the UK. More and more are taking the opportunity to head off on a gap year trip to broaden their work and life experience, and bolster their CV with overseas work experience. For example, we've seen a 10 per cent increase in sales of Working Holiday Visas for Australia compared to last summer, and 16 per cent for New Zealand. ”

The key five gap year destinations for STA Travel UK are Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Thailand and Peru, which form the staple parts of most people's gap year experience. However there's a new wave of destinations coming through as young travellers look to break away from the gap pack and experience something different.

Mintrim commented: “Iceland is our fastest growing destination (+129% on last year) as people are stopping off there on their way to or way back from New York or the east coast of the USA. It's a fascinating country especially if you're there for the Northern Lights, and, post-banking crash, has never been more affordable.” 

Bali, Manila and Borneo are all seeing big growth too this year (all are up more than 75% year-on-year) as gappers look beyond the usual Asian itineraries in search of more off-the-beaten track trips. 

“Off-the-beaten-track places such as Manila are pretty unknown still so have extra social media talkability, a factor which is becoming increasingly important to our customers who regularly post updates whilst on their travels. They've done a lot of research, talked to lots of their friends as well as the travel experts in our stores, and so are knowledgable and keen to explore new destinations which might not usually feature in the traditional gap year itinerary,” said Mintrim.

South Africa is drawing more attention this year too with Cape Town and Windhoek seeing numbers up by 35% and 38% respectively. Historically South Africa hasn't been a big gap year destination but it's now becoming used as an international hub to explore more of Africa and onto the Far East, according to STA Travel UK.

Getting to see more of each destination is also important to the gap year traveller, with overland travel arrangements being favoured over domestic or short-hop flights by those on long trips.

Mintrim explained: ““This year has seen a move towards 'open jaw' routes for our customers, e.g. flying into Bangkok and out of Singapore, with sales of bus passes in Asia up by 44 per cent. I think people on longer trips would rather take a bus/train/boat so as to see more of a destination rather than booking lots of internal flights. Our customers are looking for a more immersive itinerary, a gap year is no longer just a list of countries to tick off.”

“Gap years have never been so meticulously planned. Our customers know that to get the most out of their trip they must factor in different elements in advance, such as Working Holiday Visas, volunteering projects, adventure activities e.g. trekking or scuba courses, or pre booking must-see cultural sites such as Angkor Wat or the Taj Mahal.”

Sample round-the-world itineraries: 

“Your Time Is Now” route starts from £1049 for students / those under 26. Itinerary: London - Cape Town, overland to Nairobi - Mumbai - Bangkok, overland to Hong Kong - London. 

“The Bula Loop” starts from £1099 for students / those under 26. Itinerary: Gatwick - New York, overland to Los Angeles - Nadi - Sydney, overland to Darwin - Singapore, overland to Bangkok - London.

“Kwikfire Kiwi” starts from £939 for students / those under 26. Itinerary: Gatwick - Dubai - Auckland - Los Angeles - London.

“The Mighty Mighty” starts from £1199 for students / those under 26. Itinerary: Gatwick - Bangkok - Sydney, Auckland - Fiji - Los Angeles, overland to New York - London.

To book www.statravel.co.uk, call 0800 988 0390, or visit one of the 50 UK STA Travel stores.

ENDS

For more media information contact: Louise Prior, louise@priorpr.com 07786 227572