South Africa, Mexico and Thailand are among 47 countries coming off the international travel red list from October 11, the Scottish Government have confirmed this evening.
The changes - agreed on a four nation basis – leave a smaller red list consisting of Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Dominican Republic, Haiti and Venezuela in place to protect public health.
This is the first review of countries since the traffic light system ended on October 4.
In addition, vaccine certificates from more countries will be recognised to allow quarantine-free travel to Scotland.
Sign up to Glasgow Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox
Certificates from a further 37 countries will be recognised, as well as those issued under the United Nations vaccination programme.
An ongoing four nations process will expand the policy to additional countries over coming weeks, where approved vaccines are administered and certificates meet the required standards.
Transport Minister Graeme Dey said:“This change to travel restrictions recognises the success of the Scottish Government’s vaccination programme.
“It’s important we continue to exercise caution which is why a red list of countries will be retained, carefully monitored and updated following a review at regular intervals. If evidence and circumstances change, we will not hesitate to reintroduce restrictions to protect public health in Scotland.
“But the steps we are seeing now pave the way for growth in the travel and tourism sector who we have listened very carefully to and engaged with widely on throughout this difficult period.”
