LONDON (REUTERS) - Holiday company TUI said the vaccine roll-out in Britain had boosted summer bookings from those aged 50 and over, with that age group accounting for 50 per cent of all web bookings since the end of last year.

With a highly transmissible new variant of the virus surging across Britain, Britain is rushing out vaccines, with a goal of delivering over two million shots a week, giving hope to millions of Britons that they will not have to wait long.

The elderly, the vulnerable and front-line workers - around 15 million people - are due to be vaccinated by mid-February, with those aged between 50 and 70 expected to follow in the months after, putting summer holidays back on the agenda.

"We're seeing more interest in holidays from an age group that wasn't coming through before, with the over 50s starting to book, we assume, on the back to the positive vaccine news," TUI UK managing director Andrew Flintham said in a statement.

Greece, Turkey and Spain's Balearic islands were proving popular with those booking, Flintham added.

Another trend TUI is seeing is Britons booking longer holidays of two weeks or ten days to compensate for the trip abroad they most likely missed in 2020 as restrictions stopped most international travel.