Travel sector dismay as Portugal faces tougher rules
The travel and tourism industry has voiced dismay amid growing speculation of tighter rules on foreign holidays.
No more countries will be added to the green list and Portugal will be relegated to amber from next Tuesday. A government announcement on the changes to its holiday traffic light system is due later on Thursday. But already critics have warned of a further hit to jobs and confidence, while airline Easyjet said the government had torn up its own rules. Moving Portugal from the green to the amber list was a "safety first approach" to "give us the best chance of unlocking domestically", said Transport Secretary Grant Shapps. He said Portugal had seen a doubling of infection rates since the previous travel review. The full list of changes is due to be announced later on Thursday. In addition to not adding countries to the green list and relegating Portugal to amber, there is also a strong expectation there will be additions to the red list. In England's traffic light scheme, countries are classed as green, amber or red - with different rules for quarantine and Covid tests. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have similar rules. The government says you should not holiday in red or amber destinations - which means most countries. Holidays to countries on the green list can go ahead without quarantining when you return. Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the BBC earlier on Thursday: "We've got to protect the progress that we've made here at home while of course allowing for travel when it's safe to do so. We've got to follow the data." There had been some speculation that Greek and Spanish islands could be added to the green list as well as Malta, Finland and parts of the Caribbean - but the government insisted it had to remain cautious. 'Torn up rule book' Johan Lundgren, Easyjet's chief executive, said that with "Portuguese rates similar to those in the UK", relegating the country "simply isn't justified by the science". "When this framework was put together, consumers were promised a waiting list to allow them to plan. "Yet the government has torn up its own rule book and ignored the science, throwing people's plans into chaos, with virtually no notice or alternative options for travel from the UK. "This decision essentially cuts the UK off from the rest of the world," he said. John Holland-Kaye, chief executive of Heathrow Airport, said: "Ministers spent last month hailing the restart of international travel, only to close it down three weeks later, all but guaranteeing another lost summer for the travel sector. "Everyone wants to protect public health, but the entire point of the Global Travel Taskforce was to establish a system to unlock low-risk travel safely. "Britain is the worst performing economy in the G7, and in the week that the prime minister hosts G7 leaders to launch his government's vision of Global Britain, he's sending a message that the UK will remain isolated from the rest of the world and closed to most of its G7 partners." Virginia Messina, vice-president of the World Travel & Tourism Council, called the moves a "huge disappointment for businesses and holidaymakers", a point underlined by falls in the share prices of several airlines. She said: "The government has once again cold-shouldered travel and tourism by refusing to add any new destinations to the already slim green list. "The UK could and should leverage its hard-won competitive advantage from one of the world's best vaccine rollout programmes, to restore mobility and reopen the doors to safe international travel." 'Safe and ready' Paul Charles, chief executive of the PC Agency and spokesman for parts of the travel sector, said tighter restrictions "will further threaten tens of thousands of jobs in aviation and travel, not to mention further damage consumer confidence". He said that data showed several countries should be green-listed, so the government's decision "defies logic" and was being driven by "a policy of fear". The Caribbean island of Grenada was hoping to be put on green, and tourism minister Clarice Modeste Curwen said she was "extremely disappointed" not to be added. She said: "Grenada has had just 161 cases of Covid-19 since the onset of the pandemic and we have reported zero new cases locally since February. "We strongly believe that Grenada should be added to the UK's green list as we have taken all the necessary measures to ensure the islands are safe and ready for visitors." Shares in airlines and travel companies fell after the BBC reported that Portugal is set to move from green to amber. IAG, the parent company of British Airways, was down 5%, with Easyjet and Jet2 sinking about the same. Ryanair and Tui fell about 3%. Are you in Portugal? Are you planning to travel there soon? Please share how this latest announcement will affect you. Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. 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