Gap Year. It’s something every student starts dreaming of from around the middle of Year 12 and even earlier.
The idea of travelling and meeting new people, experiencing different cultures, broadening their horizons, and living independently is high on the agenda of many school leavers.
It’s almost a rite of passage.
But not being adequately organised can turn their gap year into a 12-month nightmare.
As a parent, you’d hate to see them detained at immigration and even sent back home simply because they didn’t organise the right visa. Or not correctly insured if they were unfortunate enough to have their personal belongings stolen before their adventure even began (believe us, it happens).
That’s why escorting students in their initial week of a gap year travel is not only a great idea but also gaining in popularity. There’s also that peace-of-mind aspect from a parent’s viewpoint of having an experienced traveller guiding them along their journey.
So, an escorted gap year program, is a thing then?
Definitely.
In fact, Escorted Gap Year travel has specialised in putting together gap year programs to the UK for the past 15 years and built a reputation of seeing students safely overseas and ensuring their year gets underway without a hassle.
In simple terms, if your son/daughter has decided to do a gap year with a school in England or Ireland, it ensures their travel is personally guided from the initial trip planning right through to negotiating customs and immigration at Heathrow and beyond.
Escorted Gap Year travel teams up with Angas Travel.
Angas Travel has long been associated with student group overseas travel and is thrilled to announce we have now partnered with Escorted Gap Year travel to enhance the gap year travel experience further.
Roz Martindale from Escorted Gap Year joins our team with 15 years’ experience but is quick to reassure her clients that apart from the gap program now venturing into Victoria and South Australia and other States, its business as usual.
“I am now working with Angas Travel who will be handling the interstate bookings, and I will be managing the NSW Gappies – nothing changes at all with the program, except I now have assistance,” Roz said.
Jackie Male of Angas Travel believes the partnership is a natural fit and made perfect business sense.
“The gap travel program is an amazing concept and one that segues into our existing education school tour business very well. We are very experienced with student travel, and while this is essentially an adult group product, it’s an extension of their school life,” she explained.
Angas Travel is ideally positioned to operate in the relatively untapped gap sector of the travel industry and to become a powerful Australian gap year travel brand.
“We have the experience, people, reputation, affiliations and partnerships with a vast school network to offer parents an escorted gap year experience that will be forever remembered,” Jackie stressed. “More importantly, we can offer and cater to the needs of both the parents and students.”
For parents, it means peace-of-mind knowing their child is taking off on a well-planned adventure with an experienced escort guiding them through the entire travel process and providing on-going, 24hr support.
For students, it’s about experiencing a trip of a lifetime, developing maturity, friendships, contacts, and making some life decisions. And, of course, there’s the opportunity to let their hair down away from Mum and Dad’s clutches and have a whole lot of fun.
The Escorted Gap Year website is now up and running and is a perfect place to find out more about the tailored travel services we offer for the Australian gap year program to the UK or Ireland. Visit www.escortedgapyear.com.au.
For more information about Escorted Gap Year, contact:
Kate Collins on + 61 (0) 419 857 354 or egy@angastravel.com.au
or
Roz Martindale on + 61 (0) 402 081 104 or roz.gap@angastravel.com.au
