Accreditations
Our Accreditations
Here at Gapforce, we are committed to providing the highest levels of customer service, and we demonstrate this through our accreditation and membership of the following organisations:
Gapforce is a company committed to customer satisfaction and consumer financial protection. We are therefore pleased to announce that, at no extra cost to you, and in accordance with ''The Package Travel, Package Tours Regulations'' all passengers booking with Gapforce are fully protected for the initial deposit, and subsequently the balance of monies paid to Gapforce. Your money is fully protected and paid into an independent Trust Account, managed by Protected Trust Services Ltd of 307-315 Holdenhurst Rd, Boscombe, Bournemouth BH8 8BX and its Trustees, chartered accountants - Elman Wall Ltd of 8th Floor, Becket House, 36 Old Jewry, London EC2R 8DD. Our PTS membership number is 5482.
We are a full member of the Year Out Group; an association of approved gap year organisations committed to providing high operating standards. In order to become an approved organisation, members must evidence a demanding set of criteria including liability insurance, financial protection, program authentication, risk assessments and crisis management plans.
Our Gap Year and school group programs are BS 8848 compliant following an external audit of our operating standards by a panel from YET conducted in July 2023 (valid until July 2026). British Standard BS 8848 are standards set “for the provision of visits, fieldwork, expeditions and adventurous activities outside the UK”. These rigorous standards provide a recognised benchmark against which to assess the acceptability of safety and general good practice on overseas expeditions.
Gapforce uses YET as a competent, external and independent “other party” assessor of their conformity to British Standard BS 8848 as laid down in the specification. The assessment includes a sampling process for verification, but all ventures are subject to self-assessment in accordance with the standard. YET is not acting, of itself, as the arbiter of the quality of provision, but assesses provision by Gapforce against the standard to give assurance of good management practice.
We are a member of the World Youth Student and Educational (WYSE) Travel Confederation. Their global community consists of over 600 members in 70 countries and aims “to contribute to the personal and professional growth of students and young people and positively impact our global community by fostering international understanding, responsible international travel, cultural exchange and education”.
Gooverseas is an online community review site for meaningful travel. Their mission is “to empower human connection through perspective-changing travel” and through our partnership with them, we are delighted to have been able to connect numerous customers with their dream travel experience. We are also proud to have been awarded their Community Choice Award for the “Top Tour Provider organisation of 2019”.
We utilise the services of Pharos Response to ensure our staff both at home and overseas have access to comprehensive emergency and critical incident support. Through their team of experienced incident managers, Pharos Response provides 24/7 support and assistance in the event of an emergency.
We’ve partnered with Travel Aware to ensure British nationals are better prepared for a safe and healthy trip abroad. Together with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, they provide essential travel advice and up-to-date country information for those living and travelling overseas.
As one of the leading online search engines for educational travel programs, Goabroad has positioned itself as the resource for meaningful travel around the world. Through our partnership with GoAbroad, we are able to reach more young people, and are proud to have been awarded “Top rated Gap Year Provider” in 2019 & 2020 based on positive reviews written by our customers.