More countries being added to the UK's official travel green list is imminent, the Transport Secretary has hinted.
Holidaymakers don't have 'long to wait' for more destinations to join the growing list of quarantine-free travel destinations, Grant Shapps said.
He urged people to be "a little patient" and not take risks now ahead of the planned unlocking on June 21.
So far Portugal is one of few European destinations on the UK's green list for which no quarantine is required on arrival at either end..
But Mr Shapps told the Financial Times the EU's improving vaccination situation could result in a host of countries being added later in the summer.
“I don’t think people have a very long time to wait before other countries are able to join the green list,” Mr Shapps said.
"One assumes the vaccination will work the same if you live in France or the UK or wherever,” he added.
The government has faced accusations of mixed messaging over the UK's amber list, as travellers were not expressly banned from visiting countries including France, Greece or Spain.
Mr Shapps directly addressed holidaymakers considering travelling to an amber list country then quarantining once back to the UK, warning: “Don’t do it."
The government plans to review its travel lists on June 7, and Mr Shapps cautioned hopeful holidaymakers and people desperate to reunite with loved ones abroad not to expect major development in the upcoming round of changes.
According to reports, Boris Johnson has privately told MPs “quite a few” countries are on the cusp of being added to the green list by the beginning of June.
Some Caribbean islands and mainland European destinations are believed to be next on the list.
Malta, Grenada, Cayman Islands, Fiji, British Virgin Islands and Finland are thought most likely to be in the running switch from amber to green, according to the Telegraph.
Travellers must get a negative Covid test before departing the UK for a green list country, and must also get tested when they arrive back.
A total of 12 countries and territories are currently on the UK's green list for travel, including: Australia, Brunei, the Falkland Islands, the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Iceland, Israel and Jerusalem, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, South Georgia,St Helena, Portugal, Gibraltar, and Iceland.
The UK's amber list currently includes France, Cyprus and Greece.
Spain is not yet on the UK's green list, but the country will fling open its borders to travellers from the UK from Monday, May 24, and will not require arrivals to have taken a Covid test.
However travellers arriving back into the UK from Spain will still need to quarantine until it is added to the official green list.
EasyJet boss Johan Lundgren this weekend warned that the UK is "falling behind" other European countries in its cautious reopening of travel.
He urged officials to hasten the process as airlines and the wider tourism sector reel from more than a year of cancelled travel.
He said: "We have looked at the data that is available and the scientific evidence shows that you have a number of countries in Europe that are now on the amber list that should go into the green list.
"You can see that that is happening in Europe as we speak. European travel is opening up at large scale.
"This is not about whether the UK is risking falling behind. It is falling behind as we speak.
"At the same time you can see that restrictions are being removed completely in certain cases for vaccinated travels and even if you're not vaccinated, you see that there's an unwinding of these restrictions.
"We urge the Government to look at this data again and make sure that they also are following the rules and the conditions that they set up themselves."
