A quarter of Britons have a holiday booked to an amber-list country

A QUARTER of Britons currently have a holiday booked to an amber-list country – and as many as 75% insist they’ll go even if it isn’t green-listed

• Of those planning to go abroad, 39% said it was for their mental health 
• Over a quarter said they were fully vaccinated and saw no reason not to go
• Those in their 30s and 40s are most likely to head off to an amber-list country

New research has revealed that as many as 24 per cent of Britons claim they currently have a holiday booked to an amber-list country.

And as many as three quarters (75 per cent) of those with trips abroad planned over the next few months insist they are happy to go against the government’s advice and go ahead with the holiday – despite the testing and 10-day quarantine involved – even if their country doesn’t move to the green list in time.

Of those who said they would jet away on a foreign holiday regardless of warnings, 39 per cent said they needed to get away for their mental health, while 27 per cent said they were fully vaccinated and saw no reason not to go.

As many as 24 per cent of Britons claim they currently have a holiday booked to an amber-list country. Pictured are passengers at Heathrow last month (file image)

The research, by insights agency Perspectus Global, found that a further 24 per cent said they were sick of being told what to do, while 23 per cent said they had given up listening to advice given by the Government and 15 per cent said the traffic light system was unclear and confusing.

However, almost half (47 per cent) of those who have not booked a holiday to an amber list country said those who were prepared to go were irresponsible.

Forty-two per cent felt people holidaying in a country on the amber list were selfish, while a further 24 per cent said it was up to individuals to make their own decisions.

And it seems those in their 30s and 40s are the most likely to head off anyway, according to Prospectus Global, with 82 per cent of those aged 30 to 45 saying they would definitely go abroad to an amber list country.

In the 16 to 29 age group, 67 per cent said they would be happy throwing caution to the wind and those aged over 50 with holidays booked to an amber list country were the most cautious, with under half (44 per cent) planning to go away anyway.

Evie Porter, head of projects at Perspectus Global, which surveyed 2,000 Britons for the study, said: ‘There is a real polarisation between those who think heading off on holiday to an amber list country is perfectly fine and those who feel very strongly that doing so is irresponsible.

Forty-two per cent felt people holidaying in a country on the amber list were selfish, while a further 24 per cent said it was up to individuals to make their own decisions (file image)

‘It’s a contentious subject at the moment and there don’t seem to be many people sitting on the fence when it comes to whether we should or will be able to jet off on our holidays this year.’

The UK government’s traffic light scheme for international travel has come under criticism from the travel industry.

Today, Virginia Messina, the acting chief executive of the World Travel and Tourism Council, said that it’s now time for ministers to ‘abandoned the hugely damaging traffic lights system’.

She explained: ‘Consumers, airlines and the wider travel sector were promised a watchlist and three weeks’ notice of any changes from green to amber, and not just four days.

‘It has been incredibly disruptive and costly for both travel and tourism businesses and consumers. It simply hasn’t worked.

‘What’s needed now is a watertight government policy enabling those who’ve been fully jabbed to travel freely, and not have to self-isolate on their return.’

Meanwhile, Michael O’Leary, the boss of Ryanair, labelled the scheme a shambles and accused ministers of ‘making this stuff up as they go along’ after the decision to move Portugal to the ‘amber list’ sparked travel chaos earlier this week.

His comments came as Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick admitted there is a ‘degree of risk involved’ even when travelling to countries on the ‘green list’ because they could be swiftly downgraded.

Mr Jenrick said ‘this isn’t a normal summer for holidays’ as he urged travellers to ensure their bookings to ‘green’ nations have ‘flexibility’ built-in. 

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