Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has insisted foreign holidays will be able to resume "safely and sustainably" under new Government plans.
But travel firms have slammed measures to force holidaymakers returning from low-risk destinations to take an "expensive and unnecessary" type of coronavirus test.
Mr Shapps announced a "framework" for resuming overseas leisure travel which includes requiring all arrivals to take pre-departure and post-arrival coronavirus tests.
Post-arrival tests must be the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) type which cost around £120, he revealed.
This is despite pleas from the travel sector to allow travellers returning from countries on the "green" list under the new risk-based traffic light system to take lateral flow tests, which are cheaper and quicker.
Mr Shapps said: "The framework announced today will help allow us to reopen travel safely and sustainably, ensure we protect our hard-won achievements on the vaccine rollout and offer peace of mind to both passengers and industry as we begin to take trips abroad once again."
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The announcement came three days after Boris Johnson pledged to make testing requirements "as affordable as possible".
EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren claimed the plan was "a blow to all travellers" and risked "making flying only for the wealthy".
He added: "As the rest of British society and the economy opens up, it makes no sense to treat travel, particularly to low-risk countries, differently."
Mark Tanzer, boss of travel trade organisation Abta, said permitting the use of lateral flow tests would "make international travel more accessible and affordable whilst still providing an effective mitigation against reimportation of the virus".
Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, the industry body representing UK-registered carriers, said the announcement "does not represent a reopening of travel as promised by ministers".
The Department for Transport (DfT) said the Government will work with the travel industry and private testing providers to reduce the cost of foreign trips, which could potentially involve free pre-departure tests and cheaper tests for when holidaymakers return.
It refused to confirm whether foreign holidays will be permitted from May 17, which is the earliest date under the Prime Minister's roadmap for easing coronavirus restrictions in England.
The DfT also insisted it was "too early to predict which countries will be on which list" under the traffic light system, with an "initial assessment" to be produced "by early may".
People arriving from a "green" country will not be required to self-isolate, but those entering the UK from an "amber" destination must quarantine for 10 days.
Existing rules for arrivals from "red" locations will continue, including the requirement to pay to enter a quarantine hotel.
These restrictions will be "formally reviewed" on June 28 to take account of "the domestic and international health picture and to see whether current measures could be rolled back", the DfT added.
Further reviews will take place no later than July 31 and October 1.
A "Green Watchlist" will be introduced to identify countries most at risk of moving from "green" to "amber".
For Labour, shadow transport secretary Jim McMahon said "proper details and clarity about strategy are vital" - including on the criteria by which the traffic light system will be decided.
The Government announced plans to digitise the Passenger Locator Form to enable checks to take place at e-gates by autumn 2021.
It also revealed the Civil Aviation Authority will be given additional enforcement powers to act on airlines that breach consumer rights, after many passengers struggled to obtain refunds when flights were grounded.
