Tony Mann, director at Idle Travel, in Bradford, said that while sales remained "tough", the agency had seen a noticeable uptick in sales the past week, booking seven holidays yesterday (Wednesday), while the phone’s "non-stop" this morning.

Mann said while much of the interest had been for safaris, cruises (including a Riviera river cruise) and long-haul destinations like the Maldives next year, the agency’s "bucket and spade trade" to Turkey, Greece and now Portugal was going well too. 

"I won’t pretend it’s not still hard, but we’re making a real bit of money," said Mann. "I just want other agents to know there are sales out there. You might have to work three times as hard for them, but it will keep you ticking over."

Mann said, despite the now weekly updates to Foreign Office advice and the travel corridors list, he believed many customers were adapting and booking anyway. 

"We’ve really pushed lates, and we’ve seen lots of new customers too," said Mann. 

"Of course we’ve lost some customers by the wayside, who have perhaps had to rebook many times, but others are keen to get away. They understand the advice can change but they’re booking anyway.

"I think they’re seeing other people’s pictures and videos online and just going for it."

He added: "I work in travel so I’m not going to get too excited, but now we just need places like the Canaries to be allowed."