SHE planned to travel across the world to help others – but now a teenager’s gap year dreams have been left in tatters by a travel firm’s collapse.

Melissa Bartlett was just days away from jetting off on a three-month South America adventure to do voluntary work when she received the shock news that the company she had arranged her trip of a lifetime with had gone into administration.

Now the Tadcaster student has been left hundreds of pounds out of pocket through lost flights and vaccination fees – and faces an anxious wait to discover for certain if the £3,000 she paid to make the expedition happen through her own hard work will be repaid.

Administrators were called in to Global Xperience – which places travellers on volunteer projects across six continents – last week when the organisation became another victim of the credit crunch, leaving 163 students stranded overseas.

Both they and other customers, such as 19-year-old Melissa, who had booked with them learned the company’s fate through an email from the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), and now hope they can reclaim some of the money they had paid out.

“I planned the next three months of my life and now it’s been taken away when I was looking forward to it so much,” said Melissa, who earned A-levels in English language, English literature and geography at Tadcaster Grammar School and will study broadcast journalism at the University of Leeds in September.

“I’d wanted to take a gap year for ages and arranged it through this company because I didn’t have any travelling experience – I was going to learn Spanish and join a build-a-home project and do wildlife rescue work in Guatemala, then do more volunteer work with animals in Costa Rica.

“Everything was ready and I was really excited – then I got this email.”

Melissa had saved up for the trip by working part-time during her A-level studies before taking a full-time job at the Ark clothing store in York, which she had left in anticipation of heading out on her travelling experience last weekend.

She will return to working there part-time this week and says: “I hope I can arrange another trip, but I’m not sure I could arrange the same sort of trip I had before or whether I’d even want to do it now.

“I’ve lost £1,200 through cancelling flights and the cost of vaccinations – I had a month’s course of rabies jabs, as well as yellow fever, tetanus and diphtheria – and although I’m confident of getting the £3,000 I paid back as Global Xperience are apparently covered by ABTA, I might not know for certain for up to eight weeks, so it’s an anxious time.

“But when I’ve heard about people being stranded abroad because of this, I’m just glad I’m not out there because I wouldn’t have had the money to get back.

“I just hope other students check that the company they book with is covered by ABTA and financially secure, because this shows how careful you have to be.”


A firm in difficulties and emails that broke the news

TRAVEL association body Year Out Group said The Ethical Travel Group Limited, trading as Global Xperience – one of its members – had called in administrators Fisher Partners on March 13.

“As a result of the administration, Global Xperience is unable to fulfil its obligations in regard to future bookings with the company,” it said in a statement.

“Real Gap has purchased the right to operate the programmes originally arranged by Global Xperience or offer a similar programme. The joint administrators and Real Gap have sent separate letters or emails to all those who had made bookings with Global Xperience to advise them of the situation.

“Global Xperience held an ABTA bond and those who had booked with Global Xperience have been advised that they should submit a claim either to their credit card company or to ABTA for the monies previously paid.

“While sad to see the demise of Global Xperience, it is good to note that the proper financial safeguards were in place and that the joint administrators have been able to arrange a solution with another Year Out Group member within five days.”

Neither Global Xperience nor Fisher Partners was available for comment.

* IF you have been affected by Global Xperience’s collapse, or know someone who has been left stranded abroad, phone Mark Stead at The Press on 01904 567131 or email mark.stead@thepress.co.uk.