More than a third of gap year travellers have to be financially bailed out by their parents, according to a survey
More than a third of gap year travellers have to be financially bailed out by their parents, according to a survey.
Mothers and fathers fork out an estimated £8 million a year to help their children sort out money difficulties abroad, the poll by Currencies.co.uk (formerly Foreign Currency Direct) found.
Around 35% of gap year students phone, or mail, home asking their parents for money, with an average of £700 requested.
The poll of 501 students showed that daughters are more likely than sons to rely on the "international bank of mum and dad".
A total of 39% of girls needed bailing out compared with only 27% of boys. However, daughters asked for smaller amounts of money (£671) on average than boys (£768).
Poor budgeting was the main reason for requesting parental financial help, with 43% saying their trip was more expensive than they imagined. A further 24% needed money for an emergency.
Just 5% said they were not happy with the standard of living they were able to afford, while 8% had to ask for money in order to get back to the UK.
Currencies.co.uk director Stephen Hughes said: "The traditional gap year is changing and now we are seeing school leavers embarking on gap years that enrich their CVs and give them a competitive edge over of their classmates.
"From the research it does appear that gap yearers possibly have a reasonable amount to learn about budgeting and I'm sure many parents will be hoping that this is one such skill that's learnt during their child's gap years."
