Diane Palumbo, sales and marketing director at Skiworld and a board member of

Seasonal Businesses in Travel (SBIT), told BBC Radio 5 Live that skiers still wanted to travel.

“There’s a lot of resilience among skiers and customers – they are incredibly understanding about the situation,” said Palumbo.

France and Germany have currently banned UK holidaymakers, while Austria also tightened its restrictions for UK visitors on Wednesday (23 December).

“People want to travel – at the slightest sign that it’s possible, our sales figures have rocketed,” added Palumbo.

“Our team at Skiworld has been busy calling customers to refund or defer their holidays.”

Palumbo admitted she was “very worried” that there would be more travel restrictions imposed in January. She added that there was currently “no indication” when France was going to review its current policy on UK travellers.

“Ski resorts [in France] are suffering with the lack of British skiers and are lobbying hard,” she said. “Germany is also a gateway to a lot of Austrian ski resorts.”

Palumbo again called for specific support from the UK government to help tour operators and travel agents, with cash reserves now running “incredibly low”.

“There’s not been anything that’s addressed the issues tour operators and travel agents face,” she said. “We have the potential to be a powerhouse helping the economy to recover.”