More than one in three people are worried about the prospect of travelling through busy public transport stations and airports over the Christmas period, a new survey suggests.

The poll of 2,152 UK adults commissioned by travel think tank Thrive indicated that 36% are concerned about festive trips, including 17% who said they are “very worried”.

This is compared to just 22% who said they are not worried.

The remaining respondents said they either do not know or the issue does not apply to them.

It's no wonder many are worried

The UK Government and devolved administrations have agreed a temporary easing of coronavirus restrictions over Christmas to allow people to mix with a wider group of people.

This applies between December 23 and 27, although the window for people travelling between Britain and Northern Ireland is from December 22 to 28.

Thrive co-founder David Lewis said: “Many people are concerned about the seasonal squeeze, where millions of people who would normally travel over 10 days are being funnelled into a five-day period.

“It’s no wonder many are worried about the consequences of travelling en masse when infrastructure will struggle to cope and social distancing will be more difficult.”

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said people should “think hard” about what they do over the festive period, adding that a “smaller Christmas is going to be a safer Christmas”.

Christmas travel tsar Sir Peter Hendy has urged people to book public transport tickets early and avoid long-distance trips.

The survey – conducted from November 27 to 30 – also suggested that fewer than a quarter of people (24%) believe the Government is doing a good job providing advice about travelling abroad.

But in a positive sign for holiday firms, more than half of those questioned (53%) said they intend to travel overseas before the end of 2021.