French Government's latest U-turn on restrictions for UK travellers sparks surge travel bookings

Ian Bell, head of travel and tourism at RSM, responds to the latest announcement to relax travel restrictions between the UK and France: ‘The French Government’s decision to lift its restrictions on UK travellers is welcome news for the travel industry, who were hit hard when tighter restrictions were brought in last month.

‘Despite missing out on Christmas breaks, lifting the rules on Friday will delivered a much-needed boost to operators, particularly in the ski sector who are already seeing a surge in bookings, providing a silver lining for the winter season. 

‘With countries such as Germany previously following suit when France imposed tighter travel restrictions to and from the UK, it will be hoped that the reverse effect will occur as more countries look to relax their rules. This would be a positive step towards helping the travel sector recover from the turmoil of constant policy changes and subsequent travel disruption.

‘Whether it will be enough to save some operators from business distress later in the year remains to be seen; but it’s a positive step in the right direction to allow operators to maximise the opportunity of pent up demand for winter travel.’