British holidaymakers could receive a welcome boost when the government provides an update on the UK travel list this week, with 17 countries predicted to be added to the green list.

The government will provide an update on the travel list this Thursday with a scheduled review of the traffic light system.

The traffic light system was introduced in May to allow some foreign travel to resume again after months of coronavirus lockdown.

People in England, Scotland and Wales are able to travel overseas on holiday to a limited number of destinations after restrictions were eased with green, amber and red lists for international travel

The traffic light system refers to how countries around the world are rated for Covid-19, and the rules regarding each country will vary depending where they lie in the scheme.

Destinations are assigned a colour, either Green, Green watchlist, Amber or Red, based on a range of Covid-19 measures, such as vaccination numbers, infection rates and the presence of virus variants.

The different colours indicate the risk of travelling to each location.

A new category within the traffic light travel system implemented for British holidaymakers has effectively been created.

The Amber Plus category lies between the Amber list and Red list - it requires the quarantine time of the Red list without the need for travellers to go through the process at a hotel.

Germany is among the list of countries tipped to be added to the green list, alongside other European destinations including Poland, Romania and Austria.

Experts at travel consultancy firm, the PC Agency, who have not been far off with their predictions in the past also tip Canada, Hungary and the Czech Republic to make it onto the list.

Here is the list in full:

  1. Germany
  2. Poland
  3. Canada
  4. Austria
  5. Romania
  6. Bosnia
  7. Czech Republic
  8. Hungary
  9. Latvia
  10. Lithuania
  11. Slovakia
  12. Slovenia
  13. Bhutan
  14. French Polynesia
  15. North Macedonia
  16. Norway
  17. Saudi Arabia

However, reports suggest Spain and Greece could be set to join France on the Amber list in a blow for British tourists. 

It comes as Boris Johnson was pressed to further ease travel rules by industry leaders on Monday.

Tens of thousands of jobs in the aviation sector are at risk unless the Government further relaxes rules on international travel, ministers have been warned.

New rules allowing fully vaccinated passengers from the US and amber-list European countries to avoid self-isolation on arrival in the UK came into force at 4am on Monday morning.

But despite the relaxation of quarantine requirements, uncertainty continues around international travel, with Boris Johnson being warned not to create a new category in the traffic light system.

Travel expert Paul Charles has said it would be a “disaster” if the Government introduced a new travel traffic light category.

The chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency told ITV’s Good Morning Britain programme: “It would be a disaster to bring in an amber watchlist on top of the amber list, the green list, the red list.”