Reference materials: https://www.teachingabroaddirect.co.uk/blog/gap-year-statistics-uk

As the world is developing ever more rapidly, the desire to travel the world has increased significantly among the British population. People want to travel further and further and to more exotic destinations, but is this sudden increase in wanting to explore and visit more of the globe beneficial to all those involved?

 

Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic and the country was swept into a year-long, on-and-off quarantine, the desire to travel has piqued notably. Perhaps this yearn increased simply just because we’d all been stuck inside for such a long time, but one of the main reasons why this happened was due to the growing exposure of other countries and places due to the rising use of social media. Travel blogs are much more easily accessible nowadays compared to a couple of years ago and it has become common for people to share photos and videos from their holidays on numerous social media sites. Because of this increase in consumption of media surrounding travel and holidays, it has caused the population’s wish to visit new places to increase as well, but this is in no way a bad thing.

 

There are a numerous amount of benefits that travel can bring, for example, travel is an amazing way to explore different cultures that may vary from your own and it is also a great way to connect with people all across the globe. By exploring societies dissimilar to what you are used to, it can really broaden your perspective on the world and can help you develop a more open mind and teach you how to be more compassionate about other people who may not have been given the same opportunities that you have in life. Furthermore, many countries strongly rely on tourism to make up the greatest share of local GDP, including parts of the Caribbean, Central America and other popular island destinations. Travelling to these places will always be a hugely important part of their economies and if tourism reduces, these places will lose money and could potentially fall into economic decline.

 

Furthermore, as well as the general public’s rise in desire to travel, the desire to travel amongst the student population in the UK has also risen. Data collected by the TEFL in August of 2023 shows that there was nearly a 10% rise in teenagers taking a gap year to go travelling before moving on to higher education in the 2023/24 academic year. The total number of students who travelled this year was 56%, and a smaller percentage of 16% of students worked or volunteered abroad. There are many different ways for students to travel on a budget, such as backpacking or interrailing, and, with the right research, cheap accommodation such as youth hostels or shared dorms can be found in many popular holiday and travel destinations. Even if you aren’t looking for a budget holiday, many travel companies such as TUI or Expedia have a variety of package holidays available in numerous places across the globe. There really is something for everyone!

 

However, before choosing your next destination, it is imperative that you check any entry requirements for each place you're visiting as some countries require you to have different visas or vaccines before you are allowed to enter the country. This is very important as you wouldn’t want anything disrupting your travels. 

 

There are so many amazing benefits that travelling can bring, such as improving communication skills, connecting with other people and simply just opening your heart to different cultures and societies. Travel is amazing for anyone, so if you can, you should make the effort to visit another place as it truly is an enriching experience.