Holiday operator Inghams has announced that it is suspending a number of Switzerland ski holidays as the country is imposing new quarantine rules due to fears amidst the Omicron variant outbreak.
Switzerland is one of the countries tightening up border rules, by introducing a mandatory 10-day self-quarantine for all UK arrivals, even those who are fully vaccinated.
Visitors will also need to be able to show proof of vaccination, alongside a negative PCR or antigen test result.
Those who are not fully vaccinated won't be permitted to enter the country unless they meet certain criteria such as being a Swiss national or resident.
As a result, Inghams, which offers a number of ski holidays in the area, has suspended all of its Switzerland holidays due to depart in December 2021.
The company says that customers who are affected by the changes will be offered the options to move their booking free of charge, or cancel and receive a full refund.
As part of his statement announcing the news Joe Ponte, Inghams CEO, said: "We are extremely disappointed for all our customers who were looking forward to a ski holiday in Switzerland in the coming month. Switzerland accounts for around 6% of the holidays in our winter programme, and booking numbers for the coming ski season have been strong.
"While many of our customers remain eager to return to the slopes, we understand that some customers with later departure dates may be feeling apprehensive about their holiday following this latest update. With this in mind, we continue to offer flexibility via our ‘No Fee to change up to 28 days before departure’ policy. Allowing our customers the option to move their holiday to a later date or different destination."
Peak season for ski holidays is set to kick off this month, but some countries have already been introducing stricter measures due to Covid. For example, before Omicron, back in November Austria had already announced it was going into a full national lockdown including hotels being closed to tourists.
Meanwhile in Italy, restrictions have been announced for the 2021/2022 ski season including anyone aged 12 or over requiring a 'green pass' to access the ski lifts, wearing masks on ski lifts and maintaining social distancing on the slopes.
If you have a holiday booked but no longer want to go, you'll need to check your booking policy - usually, travel firms are being flexible and offering options such as rebooking a holiday free of charge.
You're only entitled to a full refund if it's the travel company/tour operator who cancels your holiday.
At the moment, the UK's red list consists of 10 countries; Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
All other countries are on the 'rest of the world list' although there are new UK travel rules for anyone returning from abroad introduced as a result of the Omicron update.
Most travel firms won't operate holidays to destinations when the Foreign Office advises against travel - which is usually the case for red list countries.
If the operator cancels your holiday you will be entitled to a refund, although you may also be offered a rebooking or vouchers. You're entitled to choose the option that best suits you.
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