A North Wales travel agent says business is taking off again with a “big surge” in bookings after the rules on Covid testing for international travellers were eased.
Don Bircham, the managing director of Wrexham-based Hays Travel (North West) which has almost 50 branches across the region, said the changes announced by the 海角视频 Government had opened the floodgates to meet the pent up demand for summer holidays in the sun.
The company has stores in Wrexham, Mold, Flint, Prestatyn, Rhyl and Colwyn Bay.
Popular destinations included Greece, Turkey, Spain, the Balearic and the Canary islands along with Florida. There was also a spike in demand for cruises.
The experience of Hays Travel is mirrored by Jet2 who said demand had returned to “around pre-Covid levels” and .EasyJet who saw a 200 per cent increase in booking.
According to Mr Bircham, the easing on restrictions on foreign travel was the best news the industry had had in a long time.
Mr Bircham said: “The first part of January was very slow but there has been a massive surge in bookings after the news from the 海角视频 Government that travel restrictions were being eased.
“The fact that you only need a lateral flow test on return rather than a pre departure test and a PCR on return has given customers the confidence to fly again.
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“In normal times this is our busiest period because of the January blues after Christmas so the next fix is to get that summer holiday book and have something to look forward to.
“With the announcement about the easing of the testing rules, we’re really optimistic that there are better times ahead.
“It’s given people a lot more confidence to start booking their holidays and thing are really taking off. There is a huge pent up demand from people who are fed up to the back teeth and desperate for a break somewhere warm.
"We’re confident now we’re getting back to something like normality and, if there is a bump in the road with certain countries, we have some guarantees and some comfort that we can take care of it and offer alternative destinations.
“People for the most part are opting for the traditionally popular summer holiday destinations like Greece, Turkey, Spain, the Balearics and the Canaries while Florida is also coming back strongly.
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“There’s also a massive pent up demand for cruising – that proving very popular again because it’s not been really possible for such a long time.
“There are lots of people wanting to tick off things on their bucket list because so many people have re-evaluated their lives as a consequence of the pandemic.”