The two brands’ France programmes will remain suspended until 4 January said Hotelplan UK chief executive Joe Ponte on Thursday afternoon (16 December).
It comes after France announced that from Saturday (18 December), all UK visitors would need a "compelling reason" to visit the country. These do not include tourism or non-urgent business trips.
"Following the news people travelling from the UK are only allowed to enter France for essential travel reasons, we’ve made the decision to suspend all Inghams and Esprit departures to France up to and including 4 January 2022," said Ponte.
"We are hugely disappointed for our customers looking forward to a ski holiday in France in the coming weeks. However, without clarity on when the latest entry restrictions into France will end, it is sadly the right decision.
"For those customers impacted, we hope they will choose to join us for their holiday at a later date, but if not, they will be offered a refund."
Ponte said while Hotelplan would continue to monitor the situation closely, he was hopeful departures would be able to resume in the new year.
"We’re in touch with our customers currently in French resorts, and at this time, advising them to continue to enjoy their holiday as planned," said Ponte.
""We’d like to thank our customers and partners for their patience throughout these changing times. We would also like to reassure everyone planning to travel with us that we intend to continue do the right thing by our customers."
The shock decision by France broke early on Thursday morning, plunging the already beleaguered ski sector into fresh chaos with many firms having already prepared and staffed up for operations after two curtailed winters.
Seasonal Businesses in Travel, a coalition of around 200 UK outbound operators, described the French government decision as "devastating", particularly given the timing.
It is currently working with members to assess the likely impact on the sector, and is calling for immediate targeted support from the UK government.
Abta, meanwhile, has described the situation as a "hammer blow" and has called for a meeting with transport secretary Grant Shapps and chancellor Rishi Sunak to negotiate dedicated financial support for the travel industry.
