Paul Charles, CEO of the PC Agency and travel forecaster, comments on green list speculation:

What is the reality of travelling to a green destination right now?

The Independent’s travel editor flew to Madeira with Tui on the first day, 17 May, that international travel was permitted following a 19-week break.

And a reminder of the quarantine and testing requirements for arrivals from each colour.

Green arrivals do not need to self-isolate.

All arrivals, regardless of colour band, must present a negative test (this can be lateral flow or rapid antigen) to their airline before departure to the UK.

All returning passengers from green destinations must then take a PCR test within two days of arrival. Passengers will be asked for details of the booked PCR test on the Passenger Locator Form, which will be checked by the airline before departure.

Any arrivals from amber countries, which covers most of Europe, are required to self-isolate for 10 days at home.

They, like green arrivals, must present a negative test before departure to the UK. They must also book PCR tests for days two and eight.

All red arrivals must go into hotel quarantine for 11 nights at a cost of £1,750pp.

Here’s a reminder of the countries and territories on the green list, as it stands before the review.

There are currently 12 destinations on the green list, first revealed on 7 May. It took effect on 17 May.

However, many countries do not currently let in British travellers or are impossible to reach directly, thereby necessitating travel through an amber country.

The only possible holiday destinations are Portugal, Gibraltar and Iceland.

• Portugal
• Israel
• Gibraltar
• Iceland
• Faroe Islands
• Brunei
• Falkland Islands
• Australia
• New Zealand
• Singapore
• Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
• South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

While travellers are focused on international travel and the hope of a “green” summer holiday, there is some bad news for the rail industry.

Rail journeys have fallen to their lowest in a century-and-a-half, the Office of Rail and Road has revealed.

Only 388 million journeys were made between April 2020 and March 2021, compared with 1.7 billion made in 2019-20 – a fall of 78 per cent in passenger numbers.

The slump in fare revenue was even worse, down 82 per cent to £1.9bn, compared with £10.4 billion in 2019-20.

Taxpayers are filling the gap with a subsidy currently running at £1m per hour.

Travel correspondent Simon Calder has the full report here.

The Canary Islands, a green list hopeful in the UK’s travel update expected later today, is introducing new requirements for all holidaymakers over the age of six in order to access any official tourist accommodation in the islands.

Travellers must now provide proof of one of the following:

• A Negative Active Infection Diagnostic Test (AIDT), carried out within a maximum period of 72 hours prior to arrival. This test could be a PCR or an antigen test.
• A full course of Covid vaccination within the previous eight months (and have official documentation stating the vaccine received, the number of doses and the date of administration. Vaccine must be officially approved by the European Medical Agency).
• A Covid vaccination more than 15 days in advance of arrival and within four months prior to travel (the vaccination must be accompanied by official documentation stating the vaccine received and the date of administration. Vaccine must be officially approved by the European Medical Agency).
• Recovery from the illness within six months prior to the date of travel. This must be accredited with an official medical certificate or public document stating the dates of infection.

No new countries will be added to Britain’s green list for international travel when the list of quarantine-free destinations is updated later on Thursday, The Sun reported.

The publication, which did not name its sources, also said that new countries would be added to the “red list”. It said talks were ongoing to decide whether Portugal, a popular holiday destination for Britons, would remain on the green list or move to amber.

If true, the news will be a further devastating blow to British holidaymakers and the beleaguered tourism industry.

Brits are prepared to spend big in order to stay safe ahead of the next travel announcement, according to research from AllClear Travel Insurance.

It found that holidaymakers were willing to spend an extra £1,478 on holidays in order to feel safe – a growth of £546 since the end of last year.

The area people were prepared to spend the most amount on was the quality of resort they were staying in: £289 (up from £212 in October). However, the biggest percentage jumps in spend were the choice of airline (£236 more; up 82 per cent from six months ago), and on private excursions (£189 more; up 139 per cent from six months ago).

On average, British travellers said they were prepared to spend an extra 25 per cent more on insurance cover this year. In particular they said they would spend an extra £99 on travel insurance that covers for Covid-19, and an extra £103 for a policy that covers pre-existing medical conditions.

For travellers over 65 the average spend was an extra £174 on insurance policies as a whole.

The Foreign Office continues to warn against travel to much of Greece and Spain – but not to some of the islands.

FCDO travel advice is the basis for tour operators deciding whether or not to run package holidays.

The islands of Rhodes, Kos, Zakynthos, Corfu and Crete are regarded as low risk by the Foreign Office, along with the Canary Islands.

There is no indication that FCDO advice will be aligned with the decision on changes to the “traffic light” system, however.

Even if the above-mentioned destinations remain amber, the FCDO advice means that British holidaymakers who travel there should not have their travel insurance invalidated,

This is because insurance policies are normally based on Foreign Office guidance, rather than the newly introduced travel traffic light system. If your destination is exempt from the FCDO’s blanket advisory against non-essential travel, your travel insurance should still cover your trip (although always read the small print).

The case for Indonesia moving from amber to the red list in the UK government’s next travel update has gained strength after new reports suggest the country’s Covid-19 rates could be much higher than the official figures.

The country of 270 million has recorded 1.83 million positive cases, but epidemiologists have long believed the true scale of the spread has been obscured by a lack of testing and contact tracing.

The results of Indonesia’s first major seroprevalence studies – which test for antibodies – were revealed to Reuters.

One nationwide study between December and January suggested 15 per cent of Indonesians had already contracted Covid-19 – when official figures at the end of January had recorded infections among only around 0.4 per cent of people.

Even now, Indonesia’s total positive infections are only around 0.7 per cent of the population.

The results of the survey were not unexpected given under reporting, said Pandu Riono, a University of Indonesia epidemiologist who worked on the study carried out with help from the World Health Organisation.

Siti Nadia Tarmizi, a senior health ministry official, said it was possible the study was preliminary, but there might be more cases than officially reported because many cases were asymptomatic.

Travel expert and founder of the PC Agency Paul Charles has predicted that Indonesia is a prime candidate for moving to the red list, alongside Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.

Additional reporting by agencies