UK Youth Travel to Doar by 20% in 2012

Youth travel specialist STA Travel is predicting an unprecedented boom in student travel in 2012 as youth unemployment soars and the reality of university fees bite.

Recent research estimates that 2.5 million young people in the UK will be planning a gap year trip in 2012 however STA Travel puts this figure at nearer three million.

This is largely due to a swathe of young people who have had to make changes to their plans for 2012, either thanks to thwarted university plans or ongoing struggles to find employment in the UK.

STA Travel group managing director John Constable said: “For many young people, 2012 will be their ‘year of travel’ as they re-evaluate future plans. Young people have used travel to broaden their horizons for many years, however this avenue has become more formalised with many young people incorporating some sort of skill and CV-boosting activity while they’re away.”

Last year the average age for an STA Travel customer was 23 years’ old, however it’s expected for this to drop in 2012 as students head off after their A-levels due to the introduction of university fees, according to Constable.