Grown up gappers emerge as recession trend
Tuesday, 29 Jul, 2009
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More than three quarters of people who have been made redundant plan to use the extra time to go travelling, according to foreign exchange company Travelex.
The company spoke to 4,000 people who had lost their jobs during the recession and heard 78% of them say they planned to travel, explore and take a “grown-up gap year”.
It also found that one in ten of those who lost their job see it as a positive occurrence as it changes their life direction.
Top destinations for the newly at leisure are Canada, Japan, Hawaii and the Philippines.
The research shows 30-55-year-olds are the most likely to take time out to travel (63%), compared to just 32% of 18-24 year olds, suggesting a new generation of gap year travellers.
But, unlike the year out students opt for, most adult gappers would travel for on average three months, with men opting to take five to six months and women two to three months.
Nearly a third (32%) view the time to travel as an opportunity to reflect and think about the future, whilst 30% would take the opportunity to pursue their dream for adventure travel and use the time to do things they didn’t have the chance to in their younger years.
A thirst for adventure can be seen in the most favoured destinations, with 55% wanting to escape to destinations off the beaten track, instead of sticking to countries typically associated with gap year travel.
Travelex reports a growth in demand in the past 12 months for long distance currencies, fuelled by this group of travellers.
The Philippine Peso, Dominican Republic Peso, East Caribbean Dollar and Indonesian Rupiah have all been introduced for the first time on Travelex.co.uk and demand has increased by 25% as travellers increasingly look for alternative destinations.
And tourists boards everywhere delight – the overgrown gappers are still prepared to spend big whilst away, with 38% spending more than £3000 and 16% more than £5000. Gappers are also opting for comfort with 67% choosing hotels over hostels and 8% opting for luxury accommodation during their trip. Only 24% would rough it with other backpackers and go to hostels, rather than a hotel.
Travelex director Peter Davies said: “Demand for exotic currencies has really grown over the past twelve months, resulting in the introduction of four new global currencies to Travelex.co.uk. Combined with the strong commercial demand, our recent research highlights that the ‘grown up gap year’ is a rapidly growing market, with many people opting for an extended break to destinations that they may not have visited in their youth.”
Tom Marchant, of bespoke travel agency Black Tomato, added: “We’ve certainly seen an increasing number of older travellers as a result of the recession. While these travellers are after escapism, the destinations they are choosing are often similar to those of younger backpackers, perhaps places they have visited before, but this time they are opting for higher end experiences.
"While a lot of them are looking for intrepid adventure, their spend is much higher than younger gappers and they opt for better quality accommodation and surroundings. Destinations such as Tanzania, Indonesia, Brazil and Australia are really benefiting from this growing sector and we predict this will continue especially if the job market remains unstable.”
by Dinah Hatch
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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