Wary travellers put off summer holiday abroad until the winter

HOLIDAYMAKERS are gambling on Christmas for their 2020 ‘‘summer’’ holiday as interest in winter breaks has soared, a travel agent said.

Kuoni said that online searches for so-called “winter sun” holidays were up by a third during the final week of June, coinciding with the announcement of travel restrictions being eased.

Although the Government has now published a list of countries which are exempt from quarantine rules in England, it appears many sun-seekers are cautious about booking an overseas holiday for the summer. By contrast, business for the winter is beginning to boom, said Derek Jones, of Kuoni’s parent company DER Touristik.

He said: “Inquiries are picking up for December and over the past few weeks we’ve taken some big family bookings for the Christmas break. Lots of people are opting to take their main summer holiday closer to home this year as they still see overseas travel as being too risky in the short term.”

The firm said that December departures to Africa are up 19 per cent compared with last year, mainly driven by people wanting to go to Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa. Winter breaks to the Maldives are up 20 per cent and Barbados 30 per cent.

Mr Jones said that while prices are often higher in the winter there are deals to be had. “Many hotels are offering savings,” he said. “The year 2020 will always be remembered: lots of us will be glad to see the back of it and maybe heading to the sun for a special Christmas holiday this year will be a way to put it behind us.’’