Work and Travel Company gets Real

After three very successful years of operation the Work and Travel Company is rebranding.  The new brand is Real Gap Experience (www.realgap.co.uk),

Real Gap Experience, Real Gap for short, has added lots of great new destinations, a state of the art new website with a gap year search facility and hundreds of choices for an inspiring gap year experience. As one of the biggest gap year providers in the UK, Real Gap has more choice of programmes and destinations than any other operator.

Asked why the need to rebrand, Managing Director David Stitt said that the timing was right. “The success of the Work and Travel Company surpassed our expectations,” he admitted. “Over the last three years we have gone from strength to strength, and now was a good time to reassess our programme, adding much more choice and flexibility. The name Work and Travel Company no longer fully expresses what we do, which now includes volunteering and learning new skills as well as work and travel. We took the opportunity to give the company added impetus with a new look, new name and a comprehensive new brochure and website.”  

New projects for 2006 include:

· Volunteering with Giant Tortoises in The Galapagos Islands
· A choice of many new wildlife and childrens' projects in Africa
· Helping rebuild Tsunami stricken Sri Lanka
· Paid teaching work in China or Japan
· The chance to work for a year in Canada
· A trip from Moscow to China on the Trans-Siberia Vodka Train

Real Gap prides itself on having young travel advisors who have travelled, lived the life and are experienced in specific areas. They are full of practical tips and advice and are able to help prospective gappers choose the right option for them. The company also encourages the team to keep their ear to the ground by travelling regularly themselves.

Latest figures from Mintel's Travel and Tourism Analyst show that gap years currently account for around 1% of all outbound trips and 10% of outbound travel expenditure from the UK. “The increasing popularity of gap year travel is evident”, commented Stitt, ‘whether it is the traditional gap year before or after further education, or adults taking a break from their career, the market is growing very quickly indeed”. Real Gap, and its sister company Gap Year for Grown Ups www.gapyearforgrownups.co.uk, aim to provide a one-stop shop offering all the practical arrangements and all the help and advice that is needed for people to get the very most from their experience. 

The company is one of the very few gap year providers who hold an ATOL license for flight inclusive programmes. For all other programmes they issue a personalised insurance certificate which guarantees money back in the event of financial failure… a reassuring extra.

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For more information call 01892 516164 or visit www.realgap.co.uk