Boris Johnson has hinted that plans for a new "amber watchlist" could be abandoned as he said travel rules needed to be "simple and user friendly".
The Prime Minister has faced a furious backlash after reports that ministers were poised to create another category for international travel, potentially causing further chaos for holidaymakers.
Brits will get an update later this week on which countries are safe for travel in the latest review of the traffic light system.
Speculation has been mounting that a sixth category could be created - known as the amber watchlist - for countries that could be moved onto the red list at short notice.
Travellers from red list countries are forced to isolate for 10 days in a Government approved hotel - at a cost of £1,750 per person.
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Asked whether he personally backed an "amber watchlist" category on a visit to Airbus in Stevenage, Mr Johnson said: "I understand that people care very much about their holidays, people want to go abroad, I understand how much people plan, prepare, for the summer holidays.
"But we have also got to remember this is still a dangerous virus and we must try and stop variants coming in, must stop importing variants from abroad, so we have to have a balanced approach.
"What I want to see is something that is as simple and as user-friendly for people as possible."
The PM claimed the UK economy and society was "just about the most open in Europe" due to the success of the vaccine rollout but warned that there was still a need for caution on travel.
He said: "We have had to balance it because of the anxiety that I think a lot of people have - I have - about importing new variants, bringing back the disease.
"We also have to recognise that people want, badly, to go on their summer holidays, we need to get the travel industry moving again, we need to get our city centres open again and so we want an approach that is as simple as we can possibly make it."
As well as the green, amber and red categories, there is already a green watchlist, with countries like Madeira and Croatia marked as at risk of shifting to amber.
France has been put into a separate category, dubbed "amber plus", which means the exemption from quarantine for fully vaccinated travellers from amber list countries does not apply.
The decision, which has infuriated Paris, was taken due to the prevalence of Beta variant cases.
Huw Merriman, the Tory chairman of the Commons Transport Committee, led a furious backlash against the idea of a new amber watchlist.
He told the BBC: "An amber watchlist will be viewed as a massive red flag which is likely to cause bookings to those countries on that watchlist to collapse.
"In my view we don't need any more uncertainty, complexity or anxiety for passengers or this beleaguered sector, it just needs clarity."
Airlines UK boss Tim Alderslade said: “We have totally squandered the vaccine dividend we had built up.
"An amber watch list would be the sixth tier since the Global Travel Taskforce was published.
“Amber at the moment is a red flag for travellers, it's a glaring warning sign because of the worry that people have that they will either be stranded overseas or they will have to quarantine either in a hotel or a home for 10 days."
