Outdoor venues are scheduled to open for groups of up to six people from 12 April.

Restaurants are planned to fully reopen from 17 May.

Hotels are planning to reopen from 17 May, in time for a spring getaway.

And while there is no fixed date yet on international travel, it could be as early as 17 May.

That possibility was enough for some travellers.

The UK's biggest holiday operator, Tui, said bookings had surged by 500% overnight (February 22).

Greece, Spain and Turkey had been the most-booked destinations, it said, for breaks from July onwards.