Covid: Foreign Office still advising against travel to countries set to turn green

Croatia has already reported a 40% increase in tourists relative to last year

One of the UK's biggest travel companies has said it is currently unable to plan holidays to Croatia and Bulgaria because of government advice.

Both countries will be added to the UK's green list from 04:00 BST on Monday, meaning people can travel there without isolating on return.

However the government's travel advice pages for both countries advises against "all but essential travel'.

Industry body Airlines UK said it was causing huge confusion for carriers.

Government travel advice affects operators' and passengers' insurance and so many are unable to offer holidays there unless this advice changes.

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When previous UK green lists have been announced, the travel advice to newly listed "green" countries has been updated to allow non-essential travel.

'Causing huge confusion'

The travel advice issued by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is independent from the government's traffic light system.

Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, said the "refusal" to align FCDO advice with international travel policies was causing huge problems.

"Carriers... have no idea if they are able to operate, despite the fact that in this case both Bulgaria and Croatia are now on the green list and the change comes into effect in four days.

"We still have little idea if the advice will change or not, which just isn't tenable when you're trying to provide clarity and transparency to passengers," Mr Alderslade added.

The FCDO says travel advice pages remain under constant review to ensure they reflect the most up-to-date information and advice, and the travel advice for a number of countries has changed over the last week.

FCDO added this is an ongoing process and further changes to other amber and green list countries may take place before 19th of July.