Gap years travellers 'keen to go green'

Britons who have recently been made redundant are increasingly likely to use the time off work as an excuse to take a gap year travelling, which may include a trip to Slovakia.

However, Tom Griffiths, founder of gapyear.com, said that more of these older gap year travellers are keen to ensure that their getaway plans are green.

"The older ''gappers'' are a lot more discerning and they want to make a difference to the world, the green issue is quite important to them. They want to get involved with something that does help save the planet," he explained.

And more people were also considering volunteering while they were away in order to make their break last as long as possible at a reasonable cost, Mr Griffiths added.

His comments come as responsibletravel.com found that such breaks had seen an eight per cent increase in interest over the last three months.