UK travel announcement due on Thursday

The UK Government is due to announce the latest changes to the red, amber and green travel lists this Thursday. Speculation is rife, but past experience shows us that anything could happen. There has been very little consistency in the approach to foreign travel so far.

The Delta variant has significantly complicated matters. It's now far more likely you'll catch Coronavirus in the UK than in most European holiday destinations. This has led Italy and Germany to impose quarantine measures on arriving Brits, ruling them out as potential holiday destinations for the time being. The good news is that Portugal, Greece and Spain are still welcoming us with open arms. Will the green list be expanded to allow us to holiday in these three countries and their extremely popular island territories?

Word on the ground is that the review to the list will be cautious. The Prime Minister is being accused of letting the Delta variant into the country by being slow to add India to the red list, and so there is political motivation to show that we have the "toughest border measures anywhere in the world". The claim that the lists are being "led by the data" is a fantasy.

We feel that the likelihood of Portugal, Greece and mainland Spain being added to the green list this time around is too close to call. The Balearic and Canary Islands should be added to the green list, but we thought the same last month and were frustrated to see they were overlooked. Beyond these countries, there is little justification to keep Malta and Morocco off the green list. Even the tough US travel restrictions allow their tourists to holiday in these countries.

Be ready to book super-last-minute

If you are desperate for a holiday but don't want to risk having to quarantine on your return, be prepared to book super-last-minute when the list is announced. For example, if Mallorca is added to the green list on Thursday, you should have a safe three-week window in which to travel and return before any significant risk that the island will be re-added to the amber list.

Or take a gamble

If you want to avoid the inflated prices that "green-listing" now brings, we think it's a valid strategy to book the cheapest flights or package holiday you can find to an amber list country and hope for the best. There is loads of flight availability so fares are reasonable to Portugal, Greece and Spain. Most travel companies are now offering completely flexible bookings.

Wait for vaccine passports

There has been some speculation that fully vaccinated British travellers will be able to skip quarantine when returning from amber list countries. This would be a very welcome move indeed, although we can't see it becoming a reality until all UK adults have been offered two jabs. Given that over 18's were invited to book their first appointments last week, vaccine passports could be implemented in late August. Too late for the main summer season, but great for those able to holiday in September and through to the end of the year. This might signal the future of travel for some time to come.