British media have been rife with rumours ahead of Thursday’s travel traffic light review.
Currently, there are only 29 destinations on UK’s “green list”, which provides for the fewest travel restrictions. The number could increase, if as reported, Poland, Austria, Canada, Bosnia, Romania, Hungary, Slovenia, Germany, Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Czech Republic are added to the green list.
At the same time, popular tourist destinations, such as Greece and Spain, are said to be moved to the “amber plus” list, which means that even fully vaccinated travellers flying from these countries will have to self-isolate upon arrival to the UK for 10 days.
In this case, Spain and Greece would be joining France, which has been moved to the amber list, due to the rising number of COVID cases related to the Beta strain of the virus.
UK traffic light travel system has been criticised for disrupting travel plans and leaving people strained after they have already made plans and purchased tickets.
"The travel landscape for Brits wanting to head off on holiday is becoming ever more complicated. With the cost and availability of staycations making the option of staying at home for a break very difficult, all eyes are on trips abroad. There is a long list of considerations for an international trip, however. You must navigate the entry requirement of the country you want to go to,” head of a travel website, The Points Guy UK, Nicky Kelvin has argued.
One of the most recent decisions by the UK government was to allow fully vaccinated travellers from the US and many European countries to avoid quarantine upon arrival.
However, with the upcoming review of the travel rules, some of the most popular summer destinations in Europe may no longer be included in the quarantine-free list.