Popular holiday hotspots such as Greece, the Spanish mainland and Portugal are set to miss out on a green list upgrade because of rising Covid infection fears.
There are even concerns that existing green status quarantine-free destinations including the Balearic Islands, Israel and Malta could be relegated to the amber category because of the spike in cases.
Mainland Portugal has reported 183 cases per 100,000, while Greece has recorded 119 per 100,00
Spain's two-week Covid-19 rate reached 368 cases per 100,000 inhabitants on Monday, officials said, more than tripling in two weeks as infections have soared, especially among young people.
The Balearic Islands health ministry recorded 375 new cases with a positive test rate of 9.46 per cent from 3,964 tests. Of the 375, 323 are in Majorca; 40 in Ibiza and 12 in Minorca raising fears that green list status may be withdrawn.
Travel analyst Robert Boyle reported rates are “rising fast” in Malta and Israel, meaning there is a “real chance” that both countries, currently on the green list, will “at least get put on the watchlist”, which is used to highlight green locations that could soon be moved to the amber tier.
The Government’s travel lists are expected to be updated on Thursday.
People arriving in the UK from green list destinations are not required to self-isolate.
Those travelling from an amber location must self-isolate at home for 10 days, although that requirement will be lifted on Monday for people arriving in England who have received both doses of a coronavirus vaccine in the UK, or are under 18 years old.
The change was welcomed by tour operators and airlines.
Andrew Flintham, managing director for TUI UK, said: "We’ve always believed travel could be restarted in a meaningful way because of our world-beating vaccination programme and are pleased those who are double vaccinated will be able to travel more freely.
"Double vaccinated passengers travelling on a package holiday with TUI will now be able to take advantage of our incredible testing packages from just £20, making travel not just possible but also affordable. We also continue to offer flexibility on all package holidays until the end of October."
Steve Heapy, chief executive of J et2.com and Jet2holidays, added: "We will be restarting flights and holidays to all Amber List destinations from July 19 onwards and we are ready for the wave of demand that this long-awaited and very welcome news will bring.
"With the Government looking to unlock restrictions , we have been calling for international travel not to be left behind, so this is an extremely positive step forward for the travel industry. It is fantastic news for our customers who want nothing more than to get away, and we cannot wait to take them on their well-deserved holidays.
“We look forward to the Scottish and Northern Ireland Governments following suit and await further good news from the devolved nations. We will of course continue to review our programme in line with further updates from the Government.”
Meanwhile, Italy, Germany and Poland are among the destinations most likely to be added to the Government’s green travel list, according to Mr Boyle.
