Prices for foreign holidays this summer are predicted to significantly rise, a travel boss has warned.

Pent-up demand and fewer aeroplanes in service mean that the cost of going abroad will increase in the coming weeks with “prices already going up”, Booking.com's chief executive Glenn Fogel told the BBC.

After a year of lockdown Brits will be hoping to get away when restrictions on overseas travel are lifted on May 17.

There is already huge demand from customers but many airlines have reduced the number of flights they operate due to travel restrictions, Mr Fogel said.

He added that uncertainty around travel rules has made it harder for airlines to bring more planes back into service.

‘So much pent-up demand’

Mr Fogel said: “There's so much pent-up demand.

"Everybody wants to go travelling, but we all want to do it safely.

"That will, in the short term, create a rush of pent-up demand and revenge spending.

"In turn, the airline algorithms will detect an uptick in demand and move prices up accordingly".

Single system

Mr Fogel said that he believed a single travel system used by governments across the world would help.

He said: "So many different people in so many different governments are talking about different programmes, but right now, there is nothing out there that is unified, so it's very confusing.

"I listened to the prime minister of Italy saying how they want to let people into Italy soon and you just have to prove that you have a vaccine and it'd be great.

"And my thinking is, I have my vaccine myself, but how do I prove it?

“Do I just bring my little white card that I got in the US that said I got it, is that going to be good enough? We need some clarifications."