![]() | This article contains content that is written like an advertisement .(December 2016) |
![]() Travel, experience, share | |
Type of site | Social media, Travel advice |
---|---|
Founded | 1998 |
Predecessor(s) | thegapyear.co.uk gapyear.co.uk |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Owner | Flight Centre Ltd |
Founder(s) | Peter Pedrick and Tom Griffiths |
Industry | gap year, volunteering, backpacking_(travel), ecotourism, tourism |
URL | www |
Launched | July 1998 |
Current status | Temporarily closed during COVID-19 |
Gapyear.com (company name The Gap Year Company Ltd) [1] was started in the UK, in 1998, by Peter Pedrick and Tom Griffith. [2] [3] [4] It was one of the world's first social media networks [5] [6] and focused on assisting young and old volunteers and backpackers to take a gap year. It was the first company to consolidate and promote the gap year industry internationally and online.
The website has more than 100,000 pages of hand-written advice, country-based content, ideas, and opportunities [7] on everything related to gap years and backpacking, [8] including information on planning your trip, [9] destinations, volunteering, [10] and working abroad. [11] The site was built around a travel community where the members engaged through physical events, blogs, chat groups and message boards.
The company collated data, performed research, invented products, phrases and concepts that have formed the skeleton of the international gap year industry seen today [12] [13] [14] and played a role in defining the underlying principles of Fair Trade volunteering, building a long-running relationship with the UK government agency Connexions to give advice to students during A-level clearing. [15]
In 1997, Tom Griffiths published the book Before You Go, foreword written by Sir Michael Palin, about overcoming the emotional and practical hurdles when planning your gap year or backpacking adventure. He won The Times' Young Travel Writer of the Year award for the book.
Peter Pedrick was an IT consultant known for establishing the first market share database for each vehicle tyre-type sold in the UK on behalf of the British Rubber Manufacturers' Association.
Peter Pedrick and Tom Griffiths went on to create The Gap Year Company Ltd., in July 1998, with the purpose of publishing a website, creating services to assist young people to travel and change the perception of a gap year from something that just rich kids did to something that everyone could do - work, volunteering or travel. [16] The website initially launched as thegapyear.co.uk, became gapyear.co.uk in 1999 and in 2000 was changed to gapyear.com, with the intention of targeting the international travel market.
An additional book, [The Virgin Student Traveller's Handbook, was also launched in 1999 with foreword written by Sir Richard Branson which offered more detailed country and travel preparation information than the first book.
Gapyear.com published the Gap Year Magazine [17] in 2001 and it was distributed to UK universities, colleges and schools until 2012. It was designed to inspire and offer advice about all forms of gap years, covering volunteering, backpacking, working abroad or just taking time out.
Tom Griffiths acted on behalf of the gapyear.com as media spokesperson and quickly became the spokesperson for the gap year industry between 1998 until 2011. [18] [19] [20] [21]
In 2004, the company assisted in the creation of the Barclays Gap Year Bank Account (did not launch) and the HSBC Gap Year Bank Account. [22] In 2005, gapyear.com worked with Advance Payment Solutions (APS) to launch the Gap Year Cashplus Prepaid MasterCard, a multi-currency prepayment card, a first for the backpacker travel market. [23]
In 2010, gapyear.com became a part of Flight Centre Ltd. after attaining over 2 million site users.
The website was temporarily closed in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gapyear.com created significant industry awareness in the UK and internationally by collating data and publishing statistics into them media and creating various terms for the "gappers" of the industry. [24] [25] [26] [27] [28]
Between 2001 and 2010, the company researched the mindsets and motivations involved in long-term travel and volunteering and found, for many, a gap year occurred during a major life stage that required a mindset transition. A "gap" to breathe and take stock in preparation for change. Highlighting seven major life stages of mindset, they mainly promoted the first two of those categories:
The first life stage was a change from dependence (on family and school structure) to independence (going to university and/or leaving home, where you are free of many obligations and controls). The difficult act of saving money at a young age, when everyone was spending theirs, and taking the time to plan and prepare a world trip or volunteer already demonstrates a level of maturity that employers should find important in young graduates. [29]
The second life stage was from independence to commitment (starting to add more structure to your life, such as committing to a career or settling down with a long-term partner - settling down). Known as a "career gap", they highlighted the recruitment and productivity benefits, to employers, of helping younger staff members to settle in to their roles instead of finding new opportunities. [30]
The company also proved a growing market demand in the 50+ year-old demographic, during retirement, empty nest and bereavement life stages, that would be covered by several terms "SKIers(spending the kids inheritance)" "grown-up gap year" and "silver\golden gap year". [31] New data suggests that as much as one third of the gap year market are now in this age group. [32]
In addition to consulting governments and industry they assisted with the placement of GBP £150m into the UK 2007 budget with concept support in other countries. [33] Also, in 2005, providing industry data to Mintel who compiled the Mintel Gap Year Report valuing the industry at $5bn and growing to $11bn by 2010. In their report, Mintel stated that gap years were now affecting half a generation of the first world. [34]
Tranquility Bay was a residential treatment facility affiliated with World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS), located in Calabash Bay, Saint Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica. The facility operated from 1997 to 2009 and received notoriety for its harsh and often abusive treatment of its students, eventually shutting down in 2009 after allegations of child abuse came to light through lawsuits and highly publicized student testimonies.The adolescents reported violence to their parents, only to be ignored.
A gap year, also known as a sabbatical year, is a period of time when students take a break from their studies, usually after completing high school or before beginning graduate school. During this time, students engage in a variety of educational and developmental activities, such as traveling, working, volunteering, or taking courses. Gap years are not limited to a year-long break and can range from several months to a few years.
Miranda Jane Seymour is an English literary critic, novelist and biographer. The lives she has described have included those of Robert Graves and Mary Shelley. Seymour, a former Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, has in recent years been a visiting Professor of English Studies at Nottingham Trent University and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She elected to resign from the Royal Society of Literature in December 2023.
A career break is a period of time out from employment. It is commonly used for people to take time out of their career for personal or professional development.
Mintel Group Ltd is a global, privately owned market research firm based in London, UK. The corporation also maintains offices in Chicago, Mumbai, Belfast, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney, Sao Paulo, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Dusseldorf, Bangkok, and Seoul. Mintel databases, analysis, and forecasts are accessible to subscribing clients, those who purchase standalone reports, and to students in participating university libraries.
James Ellis Ford is an English record producer and songwriter, known for being a member of Simian Mobile Disco and the Last Shadow Puppets as well as his production work with Arctic Monkeys, Blur, Depeche Mode, Foals, Florence and the Machine, Haim, Gorillaz, Klaxons, Jessie Ware, Kylie Minogue, Declan McKenna and the Pet Shop Boys.
Susanna White is a British television and film director.
Ermonela Jaho is an Albanian operatic soprano. She was described in The Economist as "the world’s most acclaimed soprano". The Financial Times said "Ermonela Jaho throws heart and soul into her singing... Don't even try to resist".
Platform2 was an international volunteering programme for young people in the United Kingdom. It was run by a coalition of Christian Aid and BUNAC, and was funded by the Department for International Development of the UK government. Volunteers took part in 10-week community projects in countries such as South Africa, Ghana, India, Nepal and Peru.
Marian Salzman is an American advertising and public relations executive. She is Senior Vice President, Global Communications for Philip Morris International, a tobacco company. She was formerly CEO of Havas PR North America and chaired the Global Collective, the organizing collaborative of all of the PR assets of Havas. She rejoined Euro RSCG in August 2009, having previously worked for the holding company as executive vice president, chief strategic officer, from January 2001 to October 2004.
Travelex International Limited is a foreign exchange company founded by Lloyd Dorfman and headquartered in Peterborough. Its main businesses are foreign currency exchange, issuing prepaid credit cards for use by travellers, supplying central banks with foreign currency and global remittance. Travelex operates more than 1,100 stores and 900 ATMs in over 20 countries.
Micromuse Inc. was an American company based in San Francisco which provided network management software. The company's partners included Psytechnics.
Imran Amed is a Canadian-British fashion businessman, founder, and editor-in-chief of The Business of Fashion.
International volunteering is when volunteers contribute their time to work for organisations or causes outside their home countries. International volunteering has a long association with international development or environment, with the aim of bringing benefits to host communities.
Sowmya Wijayambal Arulampalam, known as Wiji Arulampalam, is an economist and professor at the department of economics in the University of Warwick. Arulampalam is the 152nd most cited female economist in the world according to the RePEc/IDEAS ranking.
Impact X Capital is a venture capital firm which looks to invest in underrepresented entrepreneurs from across Europe. Impact X Capital was started by Eric Collins. Its initial founding members include Ursula Burns, Ric Lewis and Lenny Henry.
Streetwise Opera is a charitable opera non-profit organisation based in London and covering Manchester and Nottingham in addition to London. It is registered as a charity in England and Wales, and was founded in 2002 by Matt Peacock, an opera critic and homeless shelter volunteer, with the intent of giving homeless or formerly homeless people the opportunity to perform opera, most recently through the company's year-long 'Re:sound' festival, where around 100 people with experience of homelessness performed alongside the BBC Concert Orchestra and The Sixteen choir at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, with graphics from theatre company 1927.
The Russian Democratic Society (RDS) is an organization located in London, United Kingdom, consisting mainly of Russian diaspora and their allies. It is best-known for its opposition to the war in Ukraine and opposition to the leadership of Vladimir Putin.
Black Tomato is a luxury tour operator, founded in 2005 by Tom Marchant, James Merrett and Matt Smith. First founded in the UK, the company has since expanded into the US with over 80 members of staff. The company offers tailored trips to over 100 destinations across the world.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(help)