What’s Happening with International Travel?

International travel for non-essential reasons like going on holiday is legally allowed. However, there are not many countries on the green list, where holidaymakers can go without quarantine.

The government imposed limitations on foreign travel, but it is far more limited than expected by the travel industry. There are currently so few countries on the green list, and now Portugal is moving to amber too. Portugal was one of the only main holiday destinations on the green list.

So just how can we get travel going again, and what are the potential blocks?

Coronavirus variants

The government has concerns about travellers bringing new Covid cases into the UK, especially of new variants. The main concern is if new strains of the virus are resistant to vaccines it will undermine the success of the vaccination rollout, and endanger people’s lives.

Difficult decisions need making on how significant a variant, or mutation, is to warrant changing a country’s traffic light category. Exact parameters are not known for moving a variant from “of interest”, when it is first discovered, to “of concern”, when measures are needed. But a variant becomes a concern when it displays properties of being more infectious, causes severe illness, or resists vaccines.

Some people in the travel industry feel the government are too harsh and overly cautious when dealing with new variants. They believe we can’t just shut everything down at the first sight of a variant, as viruses mutate all the time. The industry is struggling, and in danger of missing out on this year’s peak travel season.

However, the government stress that “protecting public health” is priority, and “if decisive action is needed” they will “swiftly” take it.

Will islands reopen?

The travel industry hoped that while mainland Greece and Spain are not on the green list yet, some of their islands could at least open. The argument is that opening small regions could help keep travel flowing, where there is low risk. But because of their small size, it is difficult to look at each island individually.

Due to their size, islands tend to have limited healthcare facilities, and can only provide so much. It could lead to situations where British holidaymakers have to wait, as sick locals get priority.

There are also concerns as to whether the islands have proper records of infection rates and testing. Figures may only show residents and not include cases of tourists. This means there are potentially higher numbers of infected people wandering around spreading the virus, than known.

How is the list for international travel decided?

Countries are categorised in a three tier traffic light system based on their risk. The government criteria for determining each countries status includes infection levels, vaccination rates, and presence of variants. But it does not clearly state the exact level for each classification.

This makes it difficult for the travel industry to know what is happening, and for them to make strategic plans. There seems to be no clear methodology in the government’s decision making process. There is no way of predicting what will happen in order to plan ahead for the future business.

Recommendations for the status of each country come from the Joint Biosecurity Centre. But the government also look at other issues too. This includes the health situation in the UK, and the practicalities of putting a country on the red, amber or green list.

There is no indication that the government take into account what other countries are doing when making their decisions. Although some European nations are starting to welcome British travellers. For example, Spain are allowing Britons without the need for Covid tests, but the country is on the UK’s amber list. This means travellers will need to quarantine on their return.

The whole process is still very confusing and frustrating for the travel industry, holidaymakers, and foreign authorities.

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