Key questions answered on foreign holidays

Here the PA news agency answers key questions on what is happening:

– Can I go on holiday yet?

No. Overseas leisure travel from the UK is banned under coronavirus rules.

Travel out of the UK is only legally allowed for specific reasons, such as work, to buy or sell property, or to attend a funeral (Yui Mok/PA)

– When will that change?

May 17 is the earliest date for the resumption of overseas leisure travel for people in England, under the Westminster Government’s road map for easing restrictions.

No dates have been set by the devolved administrations.

– What will the rules be for people returning to England?

That depends on where you have been. Destinations will be categorised as “red”, “amber” or “green”, with different quarantine and testing requirements.

– What happens if I go to a ‘green’ country?

You will not need to self-isolate, and will only need one post-arrival test.

– What destinations are on this list?

The Government has not set a publication date, but there is speculation it will be released next week.

– What does the travel industry think about that?

There is mounting frustration that the lack of clarity is putting people off from booking trips.

Spain plans to welcome the return of international tourists in June (Tom Pilgrim/PA)

– What criteria will be used for putting countries into categories?

Assessments will be based on a range of factors, including the proportion of a country’s population that has been vaccinated, rates of infection, emerging new variants, and the country’s access to reliable scientific data and genomic sequencing.

– Does that give us any clues?

Travel experts believe Israel, Morocco, the Maldives and parts of the Caribbean will initially be “green”.

Paul Charles, boss of travel consultancy The PC Agency, says all of Europe will be “either ‘amber’ or ‘green'”, with the US becoming “green” before July 4.

People returning from amber countries must quarantine at home for 10 days and take two post-arrival tests.

Beach volleyball on one of Tel Aviv’s beaches (Adam Davy/PA)

– Will other countries welcome UK tourists?

A number of popular destinations have expressed their desire for the return of UK holidaymakers this summer.

Portugal hopes tourists will be back in May, while Spain is planning to reopen for international visitors in June.

– What about vaccine passports?

Destinations are likely to require holidaymakers to show evidence they have received a coronavirus vaccine or taken a recent negative test.

Grant Shapps confirmed on Wednesday that people in England will be able to display their status using the NHS app.