The SPFL have confirmed Scottish Premiership teams will enjoy another enjoy a three-week winter break again next season.
The key dates for the 2017/18 season have been released but chief executive Neil Doncaster announced Scottish Championship sides would again miss out.
Celtic and Aberdeen travelled to Dubai during the shutdown this season while Rangers headed to Germany for a friendly with Leipzig.
The break next season will be between January 1 and January 19 subject to live TV selections.
The league chief says the response to the break this year has received positive reviews - including from sponsors but says the break will not include lower league sides due to feedback from clubs.
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He said: "Following overwhelmingly positive feedback regarding this season’s winter break, most notably during a recent meeting with Ladbrokes Premiership club managers and coaches, we’ve worked to retain this for season 2017/18.
"We also asked clubs in the Ladbrokes Championship if they would like to see this introduced in their league, however the clear majority of feedback was against this."
The Scottish Premiership season finishes on May 13 - a month before the World Cup kicks off in Russia - with the final round of lower league games on April 28 before the promotion and relegation play-offs.
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The second leg of the Premiership play-off final is scheduled to take place on May 17 unless any of the two participating sides make it to the Scottish Cup final which would see it pushed back to May 23.
Doncaster says the SPFL are able to include the shutdown next season despite the football showpiece taking place.
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He added: “We’re very pleased to be able to confirm some of the key dates for next season to allow clubs and supporters to plan ahead.
"The volume of fixturing slots required for international and European football dates continues to represent a great challenge for leagues across Europe however we have managed to maintain a large degree of consistency for next season in line with the current campaign."