France holidays are back on the cards as the country has lifted its travel ban on UK travellers, meaning you can visit for non-essential reasons such as tourism.
Under the new rules, fully vaccinated Brits can visit for non-essential reasons without self-isolation, provided they have a negative Covid test result taken within 24 hours before arrival.
The easing of travel restrictions has come just in time for those planning ski holidays; after all, France is home to plenty of the world's best ski resorts.
In fact, travel firms such as easyJet and TUI-owned Crystal Ski have already seen a surge in bookings from Brits eager to hit the slopes.
easyJet says that within hours of France confirming the lifting of its travel ban, the airline saw a 600% lift in UK bookings to French ski destinations for the remainder of the winter season. The company also noted that the same announcement caused a 386% increase in flight bookings to nearby Switzerland.
Ali Gayward, easyJet's UK Country Manager said as part of a statement that the airline will "continue to review our schedule to meet demand and we look forward to taking our customers away on a long-awaited break this winter".
TUI-owned Crystal Ski also had a notable surge in interest from UK travellers.
In fact, not only were bookings up for the brand following the announcement, but Crystal Ski saw a record-breaking sales day which even beat pre-pandemic levels.
Of the record day, 65% of bookings were to France for departures later in January, when the company is set to restart its France packages.
Meanwhile Laura Lindsay, Global Travel Trends and Destination expert at Skyscanner, said that the flights comparison platform is expecting "to see a rise in demand from UK holidaymakers" due to the lifting of the ban.
She added: "This news will likely drive last minute winter trips and a return to more normalised seasonal travel planning for 2022, with France traditionally enjoying a large share of UK tourists for city breaks in the Spring and Autumn as well as many choosing la Republique for their summer holidays."
What are the France travel rules?
Fully vaccinated Brits can visit France without an essential reason, as long as they can show proof of vaccination and a negative Covid test result taken within 24 hours before arrival.
In France, anyone aged 12 or over needs a 'pass sanitaire' demonstrating their Covid status to access the likes of bars, restaurants, museums and other venues.
Anyone aged 18-64 who has been fully vaccinated for more than seven months will need to demonstrate they have received an approved COVID-19 booster to get a 'pass sanitaire'.
UK travellers who are not fully vaccinated will still need an essential reason to visit France, and will need to self-isolate for 10 days on arrival.
You can find out more in the Foreign Office's latest France travel advice.
Sign up here to the Mirror's travel newsletter to receive more travel news, updates and deals in your inbox.
