A TRAVEL agent with a branch in Keighley says it has “high hopes” for this summer as lockdown restrictions ease.

Hays Travel, which has an outlet in the Airedale Shopping Centre, says people have started booking holidays again with confidence.

The company’s shops, like other non-essential retail premises, have reopened.

Owner Dame Irene Hays said: “We are more optimistic now than we’ve ever been that people who want to travel safely can book holidays again as the whole country eases out of lockdown.

“The phones are ringing. Numbers of bookings at the moment are nothing like normal of course, but where there are fantastic offers – such as the fabulous round-Britain cruises that are coming on stream at the minute – they’re being snapped-up.

“What’s different is that more people are using a travel agent so that they get the best advice and support if things change.”

The Government has set out a framework for the safe return of international travel.

It includes a traffic light system, which will categorise countries based on risk alongside the restrictions required for travel.