UK holidaymakers are ditching foreign travel plans in response to the emergence of the Omicron Covid variant, it has been suggested.
Research by hotel booking platform hoo, claimed uncertainty over travel rules had changed customer attitude - just as it was heading in the right direction for 2022.
The platform's Intent to Travel Index was showing strong signs of positivity for the UK travel and tourism sector.
Back in October, just 55 per cent of holidaymakers stated they had no plans to book a foreign trip in the next 12 months, down from a peak of 90 per cent recorded in January.
However, the emergence of the Omicron variant has brought yet another dark cloud of uncertainty over the sector and the government’s decision to implement restrictions seems to have immediately dampened desire to travel.
The latest index shows that just 24 per cent of holidaymakers now plan to book a foreign holiday during the next 12 months, with a notable 76 per cent stating they will not be doing so.
Some 85 per cent of those polled have no plans to travel over Christmas now that restrictions have tightened, according to the index.
Adrian Murdock, hoo co-founder, said: “A further dose of travel uncertainty is the last thing we wanted to see but unfortunately we look set to endure another chaotic Christmas of travel due to the spread of the Omicron variant.
"In the long term, we’re facing yet another setback for a travel and tourism sector that was only just turning a corner after the initial Covid outbreak early last year.
"We were starting to see signs of genuine optimism about travel with more holidaymakers feeling confident about booking a trip away, but unfortunately, we now find ourselves back where we started in this respect.”
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