The average gap year loser travels with £3500 of kit including tablets and selfie sticks

We’re going to do South America to find ourselves


Tragic gap year tourists travel with £3500 worth of stuff, according to new research.

Teenage cretins going on their “travels” take huge bags of tech with them, including laptops, tablets, smartphones, Go Pros, SLR cameras, selfie sticks and swanky headphones.

All are essential pieces of kit for proving you smashed a few Tsingtaos as the sun set over Angkor Wat, the wind gently rattling your beaded hair.

PR gurus working for The Flashpack travel agency revealed the trend for taking thousands of pounds of gear on tour.

Travel expert Lucy Turner said: “The nature of backpacking has changed, and has changed for good.

“Technology, of course, has played a key role in driving this most recent jump towards a more connected and gadget-driven type of backpacker – also known as a ‘flashpacker’.”

No shoes – she’s found herself

The Flashpack say the swish holidaymakers are a far cry from the days when backpackers would only need “a beautifully packed traditional suitcase with a pack of cards, a good book and some art supplies”.

Now gap year holidaymakers take their expensive gear abroad to seek “authentic cultural experiences”.

See you on the Bolivian Altiplano with my selfie stick, spelling out the word “love” with a group of Australians we met over hostel spliffs last night.