Increasing numbers of island residents are getting ready to take to the skies for holidays now many travel restrictions have been lifted around the world.

Jan Wozniak, owner of Freedom Travel, based on Strand Street in Douglas, says that despite the travel industry being slow on the whole at the moment, things are beginning to move in the right direction.

He credits the recent changes to the UK’s traffic light travel system for rebuilding consumer confidence.

As of Monday, October 4, countries will no longer be divided into green, amber or red lists.

Instead, the amber and green lists will merge into a ’Rest of World’ (ROW) list.

Several countries which have been deemed ’red’ until now have also moved into safer ground, including popular holiday destinations such as Turkey, Pakistan, The Maldives, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Oman, Bangladesh and Kenya.

Mr Wozniak said: ’Things are slow, and they are slow throughout the industry because there’s still a lot of uncertainty out there.

’However, since the UK’s changes to the traffic light system, we are seeing an increase in interest.

’We’re getting a lot more people coming into our branch and asking for travel advice, to help them with confidence going forward.’

He has branded those willing to book travel at the moment ’travel adventurers’, saying: ’They’re looking to go away, and they’re quite prepared to go away within the traffic light system.’

However, the ever-changing situation regarding what countries around the world require travellers to do, from having PCR tests on arrival to providing proof of vaccination, is a point of concern for many.

But Mr Wozniak stressed those booking via reputable travel agents will be helped in their attempts to navigate this information along the way.

He said: ’It is a minefield, but a lot of our products have a flexible booking condition, and I think that’s what people are looking for - comfort.

’If you have booked and it was all clear, and then it was to change, then the product could be flexible for you -i.e. Going on another date when it was clearer, or a credit on what has been paid.’

It is a process many in the travel industry have become accustomed to dealing with over the past 18 months, as travel conditions continue to be uncertain.

There are some signs of recovery for the industry after such a long period of instability, with certain destinations jumping out as popular for travellers.

In the past few weeks Freedom Travel have seen island residents flock to book holidays in green listed destinations - largely for 2022 onwards.

Over the coming few months, those looking for some winter sun have booked for Tenerife, Paphos (Cyprus) and Lanzarote.

’Everyone’s looking for that hotter climate this autumn and winter,’ says Mr Wozniak.

’They’re going for winter sun a relatively short distance away.’

Looking into 2022, the prime destinations are also the Canary Islands, and family holidays to places such as Disneyland Paris, as well as surprisingly the Maldives and even the Seychelles.

Mr Wozniak said of this shift: ’This was something that was perhaps only for honeymoons and special occasions, you always thought "Oh it’s luxury" - well it is luxury, but at an affordable price.’

The message from Mr Wozniak was clear: have confidence in the travel industry, and ’always book through a travel agent’ for the security they provide, and the help and advice they can give.

The firm is looking forward to relaunching its direct flights in 2022 - which are a huge earner for the company.