Travel firms and airlines are seeing a rush of holiday bookings from Brits as a number of destinations including Portugal and Greece have eased their Covid travel rules.
For a start, the UK's own travel rules have changed meaning that fully vaccinated arrivals don't need to take Covid tests, while unvaccinated arrivals will no longer be required to self-isolate.
Meanwhile both Greece and Portugal have axed Covid tests for double jabbed tourists, with France expected to follow suit within days. As for families heading to Spain, in a huge boost today the country announced it's easing rules to allow unvaccinated children aged 12-17 to visit.
It's therefore not surprising that a number of travel firms have seen a surge in bookings for holidays over recent weeks.
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For example, Booking.com reported an increase in searches to the likes of Madrid, Barcelona and Paris after the UK government first announced it would be easing travel rules.
Jet2 says that since travel rules have been relaxed, it's seen bookings up by 30% in the last month compared to 2020, with the likes of the Canary Islands, Spain and Portugal proving a hit with sun-starved Brits, while ski holidays to Geneva, Grenoble and Innsbruck have also seen an increase.
Meanwhile Zoe Harris, Chief Customer Officer at On the Beach, revealed that when travel rules have eased, they've noticed an influx of interest. She said: "We’ve seen a surge in demand for holidays to destinations where entry testing requirements have been removed, with bookings for Greece in particular soaring and having now surpassed those pre-pandemic for the May to September period, when our customers will also receive free airport Fast Track on all holidays as well as free airport Lounge access with 4* and 5* bookings."
The good news for holidaymakers is that while demand may be increasing, there are still plenty of holiday deals to be found.
Meanwhile the likes of TUI, Jet2, easyJet and Ryanair currently have plenty of cheap flights from £37 each way, not to mention there are last-minute half term discounts to be found.
Do you feel confident in booking holidays this year? Let us know in the comments below.
