The UK announced that several countries would be moved to the green list, due to lowered risk of COVID-19
The United Kingdom recently announced that it is planning to move eight countries to its green list, due to these countries presenting a lower risk of COVID-19 for British travellers.
The list includes Morocco, Finland, Barbados, Malta, Grenada, The Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, and possibly the Greek Islands of Kos, Rhodes and Santorini, according to British outlet the Independent..
British citizens travelling to countries on the green list are not subject to quarantine, but are required to take a COVID test prior to travelling back to the UK, as well as within two days of arrival.
The list of countries mentioned in the Independent’s report was provided by chief executive of the PC travel consultancy, Paul Charles. But the list is unconfirmed as the British government is scheduled to make its first review of the green list tomorrow.
Currently, the Green list includes twelve destinations for British travellers: Australia, Brunei, the Falkland Islands, the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Iceland, Israel, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, and South Georgia.
Several popular tourist countries for British travellers, such as Morocco, the US, and Canada remain on the amber list, but many airline executives are lobbying for this situation to change.
Michael O’Leary, CEO of Irish airlines Ryanair, said: “The highly successful UK vaccine rollout has already enabled hundreds and thousands of British families to book their flights to Portugal this summer, and today we call on Grant Shapps [British Transport Secretary] to include all EU countries in the next revision of the UK’s green list.”
British tourists are among the largest sources of tourist revenue for many places. In countries like Morocco, which made $8.89 billion from tourism in 2019 alone, British travellers are vital to the economy. Prior to the pandemic, Morocco predicted a significant increase in the number of British travellers. The UK’s decision to place Morocco on the green list, and the return of British travelers will be one of the first steps of a return to normalcy within the Morocco travel industry.
Source: Morocco World News.