Gap year students should adequately prepare for their trip, it has been claimed.

The competitive jobs market, coupled with increased competition for university places, has led to many graduate job hunters to consider a year out.

STA Travel, a firm which specialises in arranging gap year trips, has revealed that bookings for 18 to 24-year-olds have more than doubled this year, reports dailymail.co.uk.

Tom Griffiths, founder of gapyear.com, expressed his belief that preparation is key to ensure their gap year is a success.

He told the news provider: "Fixing up where to go and what to do should not be like booking a last-minute holiday to Majorca."

Mr Griffiths also reminded university leavers that they may experience a culture shock in many foreign countries, such as Thailand.

"They arrive in Bangkok completely unprepared for how foreign it all is and freak out. Two days later, they're back at the airport ready to fly home," he added.