Confidence about travel has returned to pre-pandemic levels following the easing of international travel restrictions for customers travelling from England.
The data was revealed in latest customer polling by Jet2.com and Jet2holidays following Friday’s announcement of the abolition of the traffic light system for overseas travel.
Almost two-thirds (62%) of respondents say they feel confident about booking and travelling on holidays this summer and beyond – the highest level since early 2020. The same percentage say that they are eager to get away as soon as they can.
Just over one in five (22%) do not feel confident about travelling – the lowest that this figure has been since early 2020, and a sharp decline from recent weeks.
The data shows that confidence has remained consistent for the past few months, however the removal of costly PCR tests and the traffic light system has positively impacted confidence.
This has translated into customers “flocking” to book holidays, with numbers up by more than 250% since the announcement, with last Friday the busiest day for bookings this year.
The removal of Turkey from the red list triggered a claimed 1,000% rise in bookings on the back of the government announcement.
Jet2.com and Jet2holidays restart operating to Antalya and Dalaman on Thursday, meaning the company is operating to more than 40 destinations.
Chief executive Steve Heapy said: “Last week’s announcement is the news that customers have been waiting for. The removal of the traffic light system and costly testing burdens, alongside the reopening of key destinations such as Turkey, means that customers can really plan and look forward to their holidays.
“We knew that confidence and demand would bounce back very sharply once the onerous and unfair restrictions were removed, and our best day for sales this year shows that this is very much the case.”