Ministers today announced they are replacing the current international travel traffic light scheme with a simplified go and no-go system as they also scrapped pre-departure tests for the fully-vaccinated.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said that from October 4 the current approach of green, amber and red will be ditched in favour of a single red list of banned countries and a 'rest of the world' category for everywhere else.
Meanwhile, people who are double-jabbed will no longer need to take a pre-departure test before arriving into England from a non-red list country.
Then from later in October the day two PCR test requirement for returning travellers will be replaced with a cheaper lateral flow test.
The Government has also slashed the number of countries on the red list, with eight nations being removed from September 22, including Turkey, Pakistan and the Maldives.
Ministers on a Cabinet sub-committee met this morning to finalise the new travel rules.
The changes will be a boost for the beleaguered industry, although travel chiefs believe the proposals still do not go far enough. They have called for all testing for the double-jabbed to be scrapped.
Expedia said there has been a big increase in interest for red list countries such as Maldives, Mexico, and Sri Lanka when comparing this month to September last year, with travellers anticipating the announcement of destinations being downgraded to green or amber lists due to their promising Covid figures.
The travel website told MailOnline that Mexico has seen the greatest interest of approximately 70 per cent this month when compared to this time last year, while the Maldives is up 30 per cent and Sri Lanka 20 per cent.
Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, also told MailOnline: 'I think you'll see a large increase in bookings this weekend, if the Prime Minister goes ahead with the measures.'
TravelSuperMarket added that average holiday prices to Spain for this month and next are as much as 38 per cent down on the same period in 2019, but Malta is up 29 per cent and Dubai is up 24 per cent.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps today unveiled a raft of changes to the Government's international travel traffic light rules
Hated travel testing rules are to be torn up for the fully jabbed in time for the half-term holidays - but unvaccinated Britons will still have to quarantine on their return. Library image
Those who are unvaccinated face even tougher restrictions. They will have to quarantine on their return from all countries, even though on the 'go' list. Insiders hope the strategy will help to drive up vaccination rates
All current 'amber list' countries will effectively become green – or 'go' destinations –while the number of 'red list', or 'no-go' countries, will be slashed in half. This means popular holiday destinations such as Turkey are likely to open up to fully jabbed Britons next month
The changes to the travel rules came as:
The vaccine booster programme got under way yesterday, with a maternity support worker among the first to receive the jab; Industry leaders warned that care homes will be forced to shut, break the law or drop standards if ministers fail to push back the deadline for compulsory jabs; Nicola Sturgeon has called in the British Army to deal with Scotland's ambulance crisis after she was forced to apologise for life-threatening delays; A survey found that a majority of people believe workers will never return to the office full-time after the pandemic; The latest figures showed that Covid infections appear to be falling in all regions of England, even after children have returned to school.The travel industry has been calling for testing requirements to be eased or scrapped for the fully-vaccinated for weeks.
Many countries in Europe have seen their travel industries recover much quicker than the UK's, having already dropped PCR testing rules for double-jabbed arrivals from low-risk countries.
There has also been huge controversy over the Government's approved list of PCR testing providers, with a litany of complaints that the tests are too expensive, and a disincentive to foreign travel.
Although the travel 'red list' of countries deemed to pose a high risk from new Covid variants will remain in place, the number of countries will be reduced by more than half from the current 62, opening up the vast majority of destinations to those who are fully jabbed.
Those returning from red list countries will still have to undergo a hotel quarantine at a cost of £2,285.
However, the unvaccinated face an even tougher regime from today.
At present, unvaccinated travellers returning from green list countries such as Croatia, Denmark and Germany have to take a PCR test within two days of their arrival home.
Under the new system they will have to isolate at home for ten days and take PCR tests on both day two and day eight, as they currently do for amber list countries.
The changes will be in place in time for the October half-term.
This evening a government source said the shake-up reflected growing confidence in the effectiveness of the Covid vaccines, coupled with a desire to cut travellers' costs.
There will be widespread relief at the scrapping of the traffic light system. Since its launch in May, travellers have been subjected to a series of confusing and last-minute announcements.
Today's changes could also see the number of red-list countries slashed to fewer than 30. Cape Verde, Egypt, the Maldives and Turkey are among the holiday destinations currently on the red list.
Today's changes could also see the number of red-list countries slashed to fewer than 30. Cape Verde, Egypt, the Maldives and Turkey (pictured) are among the holiday destinations currently on the red list
Many countries in Europe have seen their travel industries recover much quicker than the UK's, having already dropped PCR testing rules for double-jabbed arrivals from low-risk countries
