Holiday prices to some popular destinations have fallen by up to 52 per cent following the Foreign Office’s warning against all non-essential travel to Spain.

In the wake of the announcement, search for Spanish holidays dropped by 80 per cent, according to data from TravelSupermarket.

However, searches for other countries increased in the aftermath – Greece was the most popular destination, followed by Turkey, Italy, Malta and Croatia.

TravelSupermarket compared the price of packages in the fortnight before the government changed its travel advice on Spain and the fortnight after, and found holidays to some places were significantly cheaper.

Prices for Greece and Turkey dropped by 28 per cent on average, while Italy saw the biggest reduction, with packages 52 per cent cheaper on average.

For example, a week’s stay on Corfu, B&B, can currently be booked for as little as £103pp, including flights and transfers.

Travellers are also booking up holidays for 2021, according to the comparison site, with April and May departures proving particularly popular.

As the situation changes rapidly across the world, with various countries seeing sudden spikes in the number of coronavirus cases, the UK government’s list of where Brits can travel to safely is also evolving at swift pace.

The most recent casualties were Belgium, Andorra and the Bahamas, which have all been taken off the Department for Transport’s list of countries exempt from the mandatory two-week quarantine for all arrivals into England, from 4am on Saturday.

They have also been removed from the Foreign Office’s list of destinations where its blanket warning against all non-essential travel has been lifted.

Emma Coulthurst, TravelSupermarket's travel expert, said: “My advice would be that if you’re looking for a holiday, packages give you that gold plated protection.

“If the FCO advice were to change to non-essential travel, then you are entitled to your money back for the package within 14 days.”

She has also recommended booking on a credit card for extra protection and buying comprehensive travel insurance that provides cover in the event of the traveller catching Covid-19 while on holiday.

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