Holiday prices are set to rocket amid a bookings rush as UK travellers rush to book a place in the sun.
As the government announces that day two tests have been scrapped for the double vaccinated, travel add-on provider, Holiday Extras, has predicted a rush for summer trips, higher prices and a shift in chosen destinations.
The rise in demand, paired with rising inflation, means that holidaymakers should book now to avoid disappointment.
Reduced capacity caused by the impact of the pandemic also adds pressure, putting prices up even more. This is probably most pronounced in overseas car hire, where some fleets were sold off and cannot easily be replaced, leading to huge increases in costs.
In Majorca, for example, car hire prices are already up 90 per cent on 2021.
All of this has happened as significant shifts in the popularity of key holiday destinations have become more pronounced.
Holiday Extras’ booking data shows that this year, in the short-term at least, Switzerland and Austria are up compared to France as skiers skip onerous French Covid rules.
Turkey summer bookings have climbed by 22 per cent compared to 2019, partly because the pound is up so much against the Turkish Lire that holidays there are practically half the price they were two years ago. The country is also the nearest major beach resort outside the EU so UK tourists can skip post-Brexit Schengen rules.
Bookings for Albania, another option outside the EU, have also risen by 100 per cent on 2019.
Other popular destinations are Mexico because it has almost no Covid restriction, the Canaries, Caribbean resorts, Cape Verde, the Maldives and Madeira.
David Norris, at Holiday Extras, said: “This summer is going to see a goldrush for holidays as everyone heads for the sun - in many cases, for the first time in three years. Book now, especially with flexible cancellation terms and through a UK-based agent, and you’ve locked in your price for the summer.
"As the last Covid rule is on its way out, canny holidaymakers will be buying up the rooms, the flights and the sunbeds early before everything gets more expensive this summer - so don’t get left out.”
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