Research by Hoo, the hotel room offer platform, has found that the hope of international travel restrictions being lifted in May has been enough to tempt more of us into considering a holiday abroad this year.

Just a month ago, Hoo surveyed the UK on holiday plans for 2021 and found that 87% of people didn’t think the government should lift travel restrictions, while 88% had no plans to book a vacation abroad this year.

With the UK government suggesting that dreams of a trip abroad could now become a reality from 17th May, this negative sentiment surrounding international travel has started to show signs of a reversal.

Just 70% of people now think the government should keep travel restrictions in place, a 17% swing in favour of heading away on holiday abroad in just one month.

Previously, just 12% planned to book a holiday in 2021 however today, 14% now plan to head away, with a further 21% considering a holiday, should restrictions actually be lifted.

4% also stated they would opt for the Covid vaccine purely because it could allow them to skip airport queues when heading abroad.

However, a number of destinations remain on the red list, meaning they are deemed at high risk of Covid variants. Those returning from these destinations will be required to quarantine for 10 days in an airport hotel.

Red list destinations are likely to see little to no tourism should they continue to present a heightened level of risk to holidaymakers. 95% of those surveyed said they will avoid them as a holiday destination so they don’t have to spend time quarantining in a hotel when they return.

Hoo Co-founder, Adrian Murdock, commented:

“With Boris Johnson providing a preliminary roadmap detailing his lockdown exit strategy, a greater sense of normality and a summer without restrictions is almost within our grasp.

So much so that there has been quite a considerable swing in the number of holidaymakers eyeing a trip abroad.

This will be warmly welcomed by a hard-pressed tourism industry that will be heavily reliant on the ability to rebound in 2021.

That said, a large degree of hesitation remains and the majority of holidaymakers still plan to stay put until next year. Rather than risk getting their hopes up and having to cancel yet again incurring further potential costs and disappointment.”