There is growing speculation that popular holiday islands could be added to the Government’s travel green list with Spanish and Greek resorts plus Malta among destinations that may be given green status.
That would mean people visiting those locations from the UK will no longer be required to quarantine on their return.
However, there are counter-claims that the green status list will remain limited with some suggestions Portugal could be moved from green to amber.
Robert Boyle, former director of strategy at British Airways’ parent company IAG, predicted that a number of summer hotspots will be added to the green tier.
He wrote in a blog post: “It still seems very likely that whilst Spain and Greece will not make it onto the green list, many of their islands will, due to lower case rates and higher vaccinations than on the mainland.”
Mr Boyle added: “Malta, Finland and Slovakia are fairly safe bets, based on high testing rates and low reported cases.”
Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said a number of popular holiday destinations “really deserve” to be moved to the low-risk tier. He expects additions to the green list to include the Greek islands of Zante, Rhodes and Kos, the Caribbean islands of Grenada and Antigua, plus Malta and Finland.
But he said he would be “surprised” if Spain’s Balearic Islands – including Ibiza, Majorca and Menorca – were added on Thursday. “They’re hugely popular and I’m not sure the Government is ready to encourage so much travel at the moment,” he said.
Portugal is the only viable major tourist destination currently on the green list, but there have been reports it could be downgraded with the UK Government urging people to avoid non-essential travel to amber and red countries.
Travellers returning from amber list locations – which include popular hotspots such as Spain, France, Italy and Greece – must quarantine at home for 10 days and take two post-arrival tests.
Several additions to the red list are expected on Thursday. Mr Boyle explained that Bahrain, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago and Kuwait “ought to be on the list” due to “very high infection rates”, whereas Mr Charles warned that Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia could be added as there are “signs of increased infection in many parts of Asia”.
People returning to the UK from a red country are required to spend 11 nights in a quarantine hotel, at a cost of £1,750 for solo travellers.
The compilation of the travel traffic light system is based on a range of factors, including the proportion of a population that has been vaccinated, rates of infection, emerging new variants, and access to reliable scientific data and genomic sequencing.
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