Travel firm Tui saw a plunge in winter bookings as the Covid-19 second peak sweeping Europe saw major restrictions take hold and holidaymakers stay home.
The UK's largest tour operator said bookings plunged by 89 per cent compared with a year ago, with November and December hardest hit.
Summer bookings for 2021 are down 44 per cent compared with last year, bosses added.
Around 2.8 million customers have booked a summer holiday with Tui, the company added, and bosses plan to operate at 80 per cent capacity during the peak season, compared with summer 2019.
The travel firm added it expects most travellers are waiting to see how successful Covid-19 vaccine rollouts are before committing to any bookings, although numbers are growing steadily.
Meanwhile health secretary Matt Hancock refused to indicate a possible timeline for the lifting of restrictions after being asked whether measures could be in place for months or even years in order to keep the spread of variants under control.
He stressed the introduction of the quarantine hotel strategy and stricter enforcement was “on track, particularly from countries of concern.”
But he added: "Of course we want to lift these measures as soon as is safely possible, but for now the precautionary principle is the best one.”
