Gap Years are being curtailed by financial worries with the average trip lasting just 5 weeks, according to a new poll.

Only 5.56% of adults are planning breaks of more than four weeks in the next 12 months, while the number taking over four months off work has fallen by 69% in the last five years to 8%.

A fifth of those planning trips cited financial concerns as the main reason for curtailing time abroad.

27% preferred low-cost destinations such as Thailand and India while almost a third plan to ‘sofa surf’ at friends and families’ homes and 10% intend to work while they are away.

LV= travel insurance managing director John O’Roarke said: “The findings show that with financial concerns at the forefront of Brits’ minds, long periods of overseas travel to far-flung destinations are no longer a feasible option for many people.”

But Nick Rowland of gap year educational charity Project Trust, which runs longer term overseas trips, says there’s still a steady rise of volunteers who want to spend a considerable length of time away:

“There remains a strong cohort of young people in the UK, and beyond, who are excited by the challenge of spending up to a year away from the familiar surroundings they have grown up in.

“We witness students wanting to take a year out for different motivations; to learn or develop a language, to gain specific experience for a chosen career, to learn about a new culture and to be of help to others.”

The poll of 1,035 adults showed Australia as the most popular destination for gap year travellers, followed by the US and New Zealand.