Which holiday islands could be added to the green list?

The transport secretary has indicated the ‘islands approach’ will continue this summer

Oia, Santorini

International leisure travel from England resumed on 17 May under a traffic light system in which countries are classified as green, amber or red, according to the perceived risk of travellers importing new cases of Covid-19 into the UK.

Green countries carry the lightest restrictions: no quarantine, but passengers will need to take one pre-departure and one post-arrival test when travelling back to the UK. Arrivals from red list countries must enter hotel quarantine for 11 nights at their own expense, while amber list arrivals must self-isolate at home for 10 days and take three tests (one pre-departure, two post-arrival).

The government is currently advising that Britons only head to green list countries on holiday.

There are just 12 destinations on the green list, and 43 on the red list; the rest of the world, including most popular summer holiday destinations, is amber.

Follow live: Green list for travel could be reviewed today

However, the same colour designation might not apply to entire countries in the next review. The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, has said that an “islands approach”, similar to 2020, will be adopted this summer.

He told the BBC's Today programme: “I’ve always said that of course it’s desirable where an aircraft can fly direct to an island, for example, and that island is therefore accessible in that you don’t need to go via the mainland, that you look at that differently. That’s what we did last year as well.”

And the aviation minister, Robert Courts, recently said British tourists could be given the go ahead to visit islands through the traffic light system.

Independent MP Margaret Ferrier asked transport ministers in a written question whether the traffic light system would “include an island policy to reopen routes to relatively low-risk regions of nations as was implemented in summer 2020”.

Mr Courts’s response, first reported by The Telegraph, stated: “The government will take an island approach for border measures where possible.

“Changes to the traffic light country system will be reviewed and implemented every three weeks, unless concerning evidence means we need to act faster to protect public health.”

So which holiday islands could be green?

What happened in 2020?

A number of countries in Europe were given “travel corridor” status in July last year, which meant travellers didn’t require quarantine or testing on arrival back into the UK.

In September, the approach was modified so that islands that had a lower rate of infection than their related mainland countries could be separately classified as travel corridors.

Until mandatory quarantine for all arrivals was brought back, it meant visitors to some Spanish, Portuguese and Greek islands did not need to self-isolate on return to the UK.

Which countries are already on the green list?

The green list is currently comprised of just 12 destinations: Ascension Island, Australia, Brunei, the Falkland Islands, the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Iceland, Israel, New Zealand, Portugal (including Madeira but not the Azores), Tristan da Cunha, St Helena, Singapore, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

The green list is not reciprocal: many of the locations are closed to British travellers, and others will accept only tourists who have been fully vaccinated. Portugal and Gibraltar are the most obvious holiday candidates letting in Brits with few requirements other than testing; Iceland is only letting in British tourists who can prove they are fully vaccinated.

The Department for Transport has not yet taken an islands approach, but this could be implemented in the next review of the lists, due to take place on 3 June.

Which islands could be on the green list in the next review?

One clue for island additions could be found on the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advice pages. The FCDO has in place a blanket advisory against all non-essential travel, which it has exempted a number of destinations from. Obviously, most of the green list nations are exempt; but there are also some amber list exemptions, particularly islands that are faring better than their mainland counterparts.

Among these are Spain’s Canary Islands and the Greek islands of Rhodes, Kos, Zante, Corfu and Crete. The FCDO says it has lifted its advisory “based on the current assessment of Covid-19 risks”, which could mean these destinations meet the criteria to move from amber to green in June.

According to the Ministry of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands, 14-day and seven-day new case rates per 100,000 inhabitants stand at 80.29 and 40.76 respectively.

Meanwhile, the Balearic Islands, which include the popular islands of Mallorca and Ibiza, have posted even lower infection rates of 36 and 18.

Vaccination is also a factor – and Greece is taking its own “islands approach” when it comes to its vaccine rollout. Islands are being prioritised and done in order of size, smallest to largest, so that entire islands will be vaccinated.

The plan to vaccinate inhabitants of more than 80 islands by 25 June was revealed by the country's prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, building on an existing scheme implemented in April to vaccinate those living on islands with under 10,000 residents.

“We are giving our islands priority... by opening up vaccination of their entire adult population earlier than the rest of Greece,” said Mitsotakis. “My message is clear. We are open again.”

What about other European islands?

The Italian government previously announced a plan to create “Covid-free islands”. Authorities plan to vaccinate all residents on the holiday islands in order to tempt tourists back.

The Italian plan prioritises residents of islands – including Sicily, Capri and Elba in Tuscany – to get vaccinated in order to help boost tourism.

The mayor of Capri, Marion Lembo, is also hoping that this could enable a “Covid-free island this summer”.

However, at present, new case rates on these islands don’t look low enough to grant them separate green status and they are likely to remain amber, along with the rest of Italy.

And how about the Caribbean?

Many Caribbean islands have very low levels of infection, thanks to rigorous testing and quarantine requirements, and several are expected to make the green list in the next update.

The contenders are thought to include Grenada, the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and Nevis, Turks and Caicos and Anguilla.

And even further afield?

The Seychelles had a well-publicised reopening to tourists, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, in mid-March.

Meanwhile, the Maldives reopened its borders in July 2020 and does not require tourists to quarantine - merely to submit a negative Covid PCR test result issued no more than 96 hours prior to departure. It has also announced plans to offer tourists the opportunity to get vaccinated on arrival as part of its drive to lure back holidaymakers.

However, although the Maldives’ vaccine rollout is happening at speed, case rates in both island nations are nowhere near low enough to suggest they would be strong candidates to go green.