Look out for your passport on your gap year
When planning your gap year, you are likely to hear various worst case scenarios from your parents, with the worst often being getting your passport stolen. However, you are just as likely to lose your passport as have it stolen, a poll by holidayextras.com has shown.
Two per cent of holidaymakers reported their passport stolen, but an equal proportion reported theirs as lost, the poll discovered. This may seem like a small group, but it amounts to 60,000 British passports in total that went astray between March 2009 and April 2010.
Replacing your passport can be one of the most difficult things to do whilst abroad and can seriously hinder your travel plans, so holidayextras.com has drawn up a list of tips for keeping your passport safe. Their advice includes keeping a photocopy of your passport, making a note of the passport number and taking a different form of ID for use on a daily basis, such as a provisional driving licence.
HolidayExtras.com's managing editor, Mike Whiting, warned: "If your passport falls into the wrong hands the details could be used for identity theft. Your passport is arguably the most important document you own – and could cost more than £70 to replace."
