For several years, friends and family have asked us to extend the 24/7 support service Pharos Response provides travel and adventure companies and schools to their teens who are about to head off on a gap year. This sparked an idea that was incubated during Covid and now we are delighted to announce the launch of TravelAid – a gap year safety net!

This is a new 24/7 support service specifically for gap year travellers.  We hope this service will provide peace of mind for parents of teens heading off on their overseas adventures and reassurance for the travellers that experienced help will be available should they need it.

TravelAid has been piloted by Pharos Response for the past 18 months, partly in conjunction with gap year organiser The Leap who encouraged us to develop the concept into reality. Since then, we have supported young people travelling independently after their project or work placements.  This has included support following a range of situations, from a motorbike accident and armed mugging to mental health issues, an arrest and the inevitable flurry of lost passports.

TravelAid is now officially a stand-alone service with a freshly-launched website (www.travel-aid.com) plus new Facebook and Instagram pages.  Alongside TravelAid you will also find TravelSafe, a gap year safety training course, delivered online. For a generation who have had their wings clipped as they reached adulthood due to Covid, we believe these gap year safety courses will be more important than ever as they venture overseas independently, potentially for the first time.

Calls from travellers in some kind of distress are handled by the same experienced and well travelled incident managers who answer the main Pharos incident lines, so gap year travellers can be sure of the very best advice and support when they need it.

Commenting on this launch, Julian Penney, Managing Director said, “We are delighted to extend the highly regarded 24/7 Response service that is well established for organisations to young people travelling independently on their gap year.  Much of Pharos is based around a love of travel and a thirst for adventure, so it is great if TravelAid and TravelSafe can help support young people to experience the wonders of both.”

If you are about to head off on a gap year yourself or are a parent of someone who is, then simply visit www.travel-aid.com to find out more and complete your purchase online.  

If you are a gap year company interested in offering this service to your customers, then please email info@travel-aid.com.