A minister has defended a new watchlist for holidays after senior Conservatives and the travel industry said the plans were “inexplicably complicated”.
Matt Warman, the minister for digital infrastructure, said that the move would allow people to make “informed decisions” but critics warned it could cause bookings to those countries to collapse.
The new “amber watchlist” is set to be introduced on Thursday. It will warn holidaymakers that the country is at risk of moving to the red list, meaning travellers are subject to strict quarantine restrictions on return.
The government is considering adding Spain to the new list, which would be likely to cause an exodus of up to a million British tourists who are on holiday there now. There are fears that Greece and Italy could also be included.
Warman defended the plans. He told Times Radio: “The important thing is providing people with as much information as we can, so that they can make the decisions that are financially important and really emotionally important at the moment.
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“What no one wants to do is go somewhere and then find that it has changed category before they have the chance to get back. So what we’re absolutely going to aim to do is provide people with information to make informed decisions. And I think that’s the right approach . . . We’re responding to the virus. We’re responding to the data.”
Polling for The Times revealed that the public were in favour of greater travel freedoms. Some 50 per cent of those surveyed by YouGov said they backed the decision to allow double-jabbed travellers from the United States and EU to come to the UK without quarantining from today, compared with 37 per cent who opposed it.
Huw Merriman, the Tory chairman of the Commons transport committee, said the proposal for an amber watchlist was a “giant red flag” that would cause bookings to collapse.
“The government has used the vaccine dividend to make some positive strides in the last few weeks, making it easier for those travelling in and out of the UK. This is not the time to be adding further complexity, uncertainty and anxiety to an already beleaguered sector,” he said.
Travellers who are fully vaccinated can return from amber countries without quarantining, but those returning from red countries must pay £1,750 to spend ten days in a hotel.
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The introduction of an amber watchlist was due to be signed off on Thursday but a decision has been delayed amid a government split. Cabinet ministers including Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, and Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, have been pushing for the government to open up travel.
As well as a red, amber and green list, there is a green watchlist for countries at risk of moving from green to amber and a de facto “amber plus” category that includes only France. Travellers from France must quarantine at home even if they are double-jabbed.
In many cases countries on the green list have their own strict border policies effectively making them off limits.
Senior industry figures said the government was “tying itself in knots with these inexplicably complicated rules”.
Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, which represents the aviation industry, said: “The EU must be looking at us in incredulity. We have totally squandered the vaccine dividend we had built up. No wonder passengers have no idea whether they’re coming or going. Green is the only way forward for the industry — this is the last chance saloon now for saving the summer.”
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Dale Keller, chief executive of the Board of Airline Representatives, said that the introduction of watchlists had “not proven to be the most effective method of indicating changing risk” and that a three-colour system was most widely understood by the public.
The travel industry has also warned that job losses could reach 200,000 if the government does not offer a tailored support package to replace furlough.
Senior Tory MPs warned that adding a new amber watchlist risked devastating the travel industry and imposing draconian restrictions on British travellers where none exist for EU citizens.
Theresa Villiers, the former environment secretary, said: “The travel sector desperately needs some stability. Getting travel back to more normal levels would give a great boost to the economy. Real progress has been made. Let’s not start to reverse that.”
Henry Smith, the Tory MP for Crawley and chairman of the all-party Future of Aviation Group, said: “We support the traffic light system of red amber and green. However, the way it is being implemented is very confusing, complex and is in many cases detrimental to that safe reopening. It’s more of a rainbow now.”
