Gapyear.com
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) was started in the UK, in 1998, by Peter Pedrick and Tom Griffith. It was one of the world's first social media networks 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 on everything related to gap years and backpacking, including information on planning your trip, destinations, volunteering, and working abroad. 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 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.