More 'thirtysomethings' taking 'gap year'

LONDON, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- British travel agents say the bad economy is driving more "thirtysomething" professionals to travel and seek adventure before finding new jobs.

"They are looking to take a few months off to reevaluate what has happened to them," said Tracy Bromfield, a spokeswoman for Vivisto, a travel company that specializes in so-called "gap-year" travel.

Gap years were once the domain of teenagers whose families could afford to send them on a year of travel before college. Currently, however, professionals a decade out of college are overtaking those teens in booking round-the-world vacations and volunteer projects overseas, The Times of London reported Saturday.

For example, Alltracks, which organizes ski instructor courses in Canada, has seen bookings from "thirtysomething" professionals rise by 50 percent in the last three weeks, the Times reported.

The increase in bookings is consistent with the last recession, said Peter Mandara, a spokesman for Coral Cay Conservation, which organizes expeditions on coral reefs and rainforests in the Philippines, Tobago and Papua New Guinea.

"Most people (coming to us) have a fair amount of disposable income," Mandara said. "People coming to us are looking to change their career path or do something more responsible with their time."