After the huge travel changes that set in place on Monday, October 4th, the travel industry is buzzing with excitement since the news came that we may see a significantly reduced red list on Thursday, October 7th.
The red list could be reduced from the current 54 countries and territories down to as low as 9 remaining red listers. It has been reported that Boris Johnson is expected to give this huge update on Thursday and we in the travel industry are very excited to see so many destinations open up to UK travellers after the removal of the traffic light system.
On Tuesday the 5th of October, the move from the complicated traffic light system to the simplified red list/Rest of World system officially went ahead. Because of this, we now see only a red list of 54 destinations that will require 10-day hotel quarantine (you can take a look at the current restrictions on the Foreign Travel Advice page).
With the rest of the world now open to UK travellers and the simplified, more affordable restrictions in place for vaccinated travellers, this addition of a reduced red list is a step in the right direction for the future of travel.
With such a huge reduction expected, there are many predictions going about which countries will be coming off the red list, based on current Covid statistics. Some popular predictions that have been hinted at are South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, and even Thailand (though this is still quite uncertain).
Following this update, the red list is expected to get regular updates every three weeks, hopefully with more destinations becoming open to UK travellers.
The simplified travel restrictions and testing updates have made this possibility even more accessible to travellers. Vaccinated travellers can now travel to the Rest of World list without a pre-departure test, though they will still be required to take a returning day-2 PCR test until late in October when these will be switched for inexpensive lateral flow tests. If you’d like to learn more about the new travel system and how it works, you can check out our article.
The hope for a significantly reduced red list is taking the travel industry by storm, and travel businesses and travellers alike are anticipating some awesome holidays ahead to destinations all over the world. Though the travel updates have been considered slow coming, it’s fabulous to see things beginning to open up and boosting the restart of travel for UK travellers.
So, if you’re ready to book your next excellent holiday, don’t forget to get in contact with a travel business registered with PTS offering full financial protection through trust. Or, if you’d like assistance choosing one of the great travel businesses registered with PTS, you can call PTS directly at 0207 190 9988.
And, if you’d like to learn more about your consumer protection with PTS and how the package travel regulations protect your holiday booking, don’t forget to check out our pages.
