Travellers 'devastated' over French restrictions

Anna Baldwin wanted to take her two boys to Disneyland as a Christmas surprise

France is bringing in tougher travel restrictions for travellers arriving from the UK from Saturday as part of efforts to slow the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

The BBC talked to holidaymakers and hoteliers about the effects the tighter restrictions will have on them.

Mum of two Anna Baldwin had planned to take her two boys to Disneyland as a Christmas surprise. "I'm very upset about the French travel ban," she said. "I was devastated."

The family had booked tests, "and they're not cheap", she said. But the main problem was that the trip "was meant to be a Christmas present for my children and a complete surprise".

Her plans are now up in the air. She says she's already paid out for a fun Christmas, so staying in the UK means extra cost for things such as food.

"If we've got to stay home for Christmas it means, obviously, I've got to do Christmas shopping, so we're a little bit stuck at the moment," she said.

Anna was pinning her hopes on being able to pick up some flights on Friday to try to get into France before the restrictions come into effect.

"I'm trying to scramble now to look for flights. The only thing is, I'm a little bit nervous. Will we be able to get back?"

Maxine Jones spent £11,500 on a holiday to Disneyland Paris for her family

'I was absolutely devastated'

Maxine Jones and eleven family members were planning to go to Disneyland. "It was my present to my children, my grandchildren, and my parents," she said.

Maxine was "absolutely devastated" when she heard the news about the extra French travel restrictions.

She had booked a minibus for most of the people on the trip. The plan was to travel to Disneyland on 23 December, and come back on 27 December.

"As you can imagine, everybody was excited," she said.

Maxine said she had spent more than £11,500 on the trip, "and I haven't got any of that back yet".

"Obviously I've got insurance, but it's all going to take time, it's not going to come back overnight".

"But it was the trip. My mum and dad are 85 and 86, so it would have been nice to go. You don't know if you're going to get that time with them again."

She adds: "The worst part is that we just won't be going. Nobody is prepared in my family for Christmas now. Even to the extent that my parents only put up a small Christmas tree this year, and they usually go over the top."

Pascal Benatar says he feels 'terrible' for British customers who have had to cancel

'I'm just sorry for my customers'

Pascal Benatar is the owner of the Edelweiss hotel in Pralognon-le-Vanoise in the French Alps.

"We were completely booked for this vacation, and the government announcement changed things," he said.

"We have definitely had some cancellations by British people. We hope that for French people it will be OK, and we won't have any cancellations," he said.

The hotel had been advertised in UK newspapers and from that, five families were booked to come for Christmas.

"They just cancelled this morning because it was not possible to come," he said. "It was terrible for them. They wanted their holidays in France, and in the end, they were not able to travel."

He said business had been improving over the summer. "We started this winter with a lot of hope. Just one week before [Christmas] starts, it's a big mess for us.

"It will be a financial problem. We've hired all our team - we have ten staff in a small hotel - and we don't know how to manage that."

"The problem is, nobody knows what's going to happen. Three days ago [customers] were speaking to us to arrange ski passes. [Travel restrictions] came just like that - now, no vacation. I'm just sorry for my customers."

Victor Dapremont says a third of his customers are British

'We have to adapt'

Victor Dapremont, a sales manager for the Mademoiselle Hotel in Paris, said he was "very surprised" when the French government tightened travel restrictions.

"It's just another restriction at a very difficult time for us in Parisian hotels," he says.

By Thursday, about 80% of guests coming from England had cancelled their bookings. It's "a big impact" on the business, he said.

In a normal year, about a third of guests at the hotel at this time of year are British

Victor says the hotel would have to "modify the price" of its rooms, and look for customers from countries not facing the same restrictions.

"It's a complete change for us," he said. "We have to adapt economically and strategically."