Are THESE the holiday destinations on the green list? New regions considered ‘safe’

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The assessment has fuelled hopes the popular destinations will have the lowest restrictions when the government publishes its new travel plan. A senior Whitehall source said it will be “limited and cautious” but will be reviewed every three weeks.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is meeting international counterparts today for talks on agreeing standards for vaccine passports.

International travel will resume from May 17 but only sunseekers returning from a location on the green list will escape having to quarantine.

It will be drawn up by the Joint Biosecurity Centre, which has analysed covid levels, vaccination programmes and variants in each country.

Updated Foreign Office advice published yesterday gave an indication of what destinations could be on it.

It is no longer advising against non-essential travel to Portugal – excluding the Azores – Spain’s Canary Islands or the Greek islands of Rhodes, Kos, Zante, Corfu and Crete when travel rules change.

Portugal’s tourism minister Rita Marques, above, said the country is “taking the lead” at European Council talks to open up borders to holidaymakers.

She said: “We are really pushing hard to open up to third countries like the UK.

“I’m not going to tell you how important is the British market to Portugal. I just want to tell you that the British market is really important to all Europe, and in that sense we are ready to welcome you when you are ready to come.”

Holidays in Italy and France are also a possibility this summer if COVID-19 cases there can be driven down to UK levels, a senior scientific adviser has said.

Professor Neil Ferguson, from Imperial College London, said: “I think if for instance, by the summer, infection levels in France and Italy are the same sort of level as they are here, then there’s no risk associated with travelling overseas.

“The risk comes from going from a place like the UK with very low infection levels and going to a place with much higher infection levels and therefore having the risk of bringing infection back.

“If the two places are at comparable levels, and that’s what the EU is saying, then there is no particular risks associated with travel.”

Countries will be classes as green, amber or red under the travel traffic light system, with different rules for returning travellers depending on which list their destination is on.

People arriving from a green location will not have quarantine, while those returning from somewhere on the amber list must self-isolate for at least five days.

The red list requires a 10-night stay in a quarantine hotel at a cost of £1,750 for solo travellers.
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