One agent told TTG that for the first time since the start of the pandemic, they were in a position where new enquiries were outweighing cancellations and amendments, while another said they had been forced to start marshalling clients at weekends with keen holidaymakers queuing out the door.

However, despite a recent uptick in sales, several agents said issues – including a half-term capacity crunch and complexities around meeting child vaccination requirements – were making it difficult to convert months of pent-up demand into departures.

Thorne Travel founder Shona Thorne told TTG the Ayrshire agency’s bookings for the February school holidays "were a bit iffy," especially for families. "I think there is still that bit of hesitancy, people thinking ’what if this happens or what if that happens?’," she said.

"For us, February is a bit iffy, especially for families. For families, we’ve seen a bigger surge in summer bookings. But for couples looking to get away, we’ve definitely seen a big rise.

Thorne said families planning for the summer months were looking at further afield destinations like Mexico and Egypt where travel rules and testing regimes are more simple. "It’s not your classic destinations like France and Spain," she added, stressing some of the hesitancy stemmed from child vaccination requirements.

The UK government has pledged to extend the NHS Covid Pass and app to youngsters aged 12 to 15, but some destinations – most notably Spain – have stringent full vaccination requirements for children aged 12 and up.

Deben Travel managing director Lee Hunt echoed Thorne’s outlook; he said the Woodbridge-based agency was "really struggling" with half-term. "The main enquiries we are getting at the moment are for Easter onwards as it gives more flexibility. Iff people are looking to go away for a week, there are more days they can go.

"Summer is looking really positive for us, though. We don’t tend to book many families here, it tends to be more couples, but we have a big focus on Greece’s islands. Overall, April onwards is looking very good, but I am still uncomfortable, I’m still nervous – we will obviously make it through, but it’s still not comfortable."

Mark White, managing director of Welsh independent Ocky White Travel, offered a more buoyant outlook, revealing the agency in Haverfordwest had now reached astage where new enquiries were outnumbering amendments and cancellations.

"For February half-term, we have families going away, and they’ve been keeping a keen eye on the news, but overall it has been very positive," he said.

Like Thorne Travel, White said Ocky White had seen a surge in bookings for Mexico due to the country’s simple travel restrictions and the Caribbean, which he said had "remained strong as it has done throughout the pandemic".

"We are certainly in a far better position than we were three or four weeks ago," said White. "People are reluctant to commit too far in advance, but that will lengthen as confidence gradually returns.

"You can feel that confidence, it’s almost tangible at times, you can feel it flooding back in the same way we felt it evaporate in December. We’re now feeling it going the other way. It’s positive. I think the lates market could be very very strong this year. 

"There is still an uncertainty, though. We are not back to normality by any stretch of the imagination, but we are in a far, far better position than we were a month, even three weeks ago."

’Crackers’

Meanwhile, director of Bradford-based Idle Travel Tony Mann predicted February half-term would be "temperamental" due to vaccination requirements, but said the agency’s summer sales "were looking unbelievably good".

"We were already well sold out from people switching and moving holidays over the past few years, and we had a great August to November last year for summer 2022 bookings," said Mann. "November was crackers, comparable with a good summer 2019 month, it was that busy.

"Summer is looking really, really good for us, and the business keeps on coming in. We’ve had people queuing out the door on Saturdays, we’re having to marshal them outside. It was so lovely to roll back the years and have queues!"

Mann added the worth of travel agents "had never been so high", adding: "Now is the time for us agents to shine, for all of that hard work we’ve done over the years."