Cyprus Mail 23 June 2021 - by Andrew Rosenbaum
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| Cyprus is amber in UK travel classifications, and may not go to green. |
The UK government is to review the Traffic Light classification system for travel destination countries on Thursday, but reports say that little change is expected.
The PC Agency, an old and respected UK travel firm, warned that the travel industry should expect to be disappointed. “higher vaccination rates, especially in Europe, are reducing 14-day infection rates to the point where it’s still obvious several destinations should be on the green list. Political jousting is blocking travel recovery and threatening jobs.”
Other reports also indicated that politics is interfering with adding more countries to the Green list.
In previous announcements, the government warned that there would be little change in the classifications.
A government source, however, told The Guardian: “My sense is that we’ll continue to be very cautious in thinking about how we take any steps that could increase transmission.”
The classifications are based on epidemiological issues.
Malta appears to have the best chance of being added to the green list. Almost 80 per cent of the population has now received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, and it recorded just two infections per 100,000 people over the last seven days, according to data published on 20 June.
The UK will lose up to £639 million a day during July if international travel remains off limits, according to an open letter to the UK prime minister from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).
The global tourism body has written to Boris Johnson warning the UK faces a possible £20 billion loss if international travel is effectively delayed until August.
Up to 218,000 more jobs in the sector are also at serious risk of being lost, if no action is taken now, the WTTC added.
Virginia Messina, WTTC senior vice president, said: “There are steps that the government can take now so that by June 24 when the green list of travel destinations is updated, we can get travel safely moving again, bring certainty to a market begging for stability and help power the economic recovery.
“Only through these measures will the future be brighter for many and will we be able to achieve a long term, inclusive and sustainable recovery.
The government is at work on removing quarantine from the requirements for fully-vaccinated travellers to Amber-classified countries like Cyprus, but indications from the health minister Matt Hancock were that nothing should be expected in the near future.
