What does the latest travel announcement mean for our summer holidays?
The government has made another tweak in the travel traffic lights. The Balearics are to join the rest of Spain (and also the BVIs) and switch from green to amber and Croatia and Bulgaria  currently amber  go the other way and get a green light. Hong Kong and Taiwan are also given a green light, but British travellers are banned from the former and the latter is hardly a major holiday destination. Technically, Croatia and Taiwan are on a watchlist which means they are more at risk of turning amber again. Meanwhile, Cuba, Indonesia, Myanmar, Sierra Leone have been downgraded to the red zone. The changes take effect for those arriving back in England from 4am on July 19. For anyone who has booked or is hoping to book a summer break, the news must feel like another stomach-turning loop in the holiday roller coaster. But in practice, the immediate effect of the changes will be limited. As long as the Foreign Office doesnt change its position and advise against all but essential travel  and it hasnt yet done this  then package holidays to the Balearics can be expected to continue as planned, and also, obviously, those to Croatia. Those who have been double-jabbed (and who had their second at least two weeks before departure) will still be able to travel to the Balearics and, as long as they pass their pre-departure test and take another two days after arrival, they will be able to avoid having to self isolate when they get home. Those who dont meet the vaccination criteria however  mostly people in their 20s and early 30s  may be tripped up by the sudden change in the Balearics status. Both Majorca and Ibiza are popular clubbing and party destinations and significant numbers of young people who had booked there will now be forced to plan for 10-days of self isolation on their return, or to postpone their trips. Alternatively, they could switch their holidays to Croatia or Bulgaria, though the party scene there is not quite so lively. What is of concern to all of us as we enter peak season is the speed and frequency with which the traffic lights are changing for major holiday destinations. Since travel restarted on May 17, weve seen Portugal go green, then switch back to amber within a couple of weeks. The same has now happened to the Balearics, which were only given the green (watchlist) light two weeks ago. Last weeks announcement that those who are double vaccinated can  from July 19  return from amber destinations without self isolating helps mitigate the situation. But it cant be seen as a cure-all. Its quite clear that the speed at which the pandemic is developing in the UK, and almost certainly now in mainland Europe, risks making life more and more difficult for travellers. It will affect both those who have already booked for this summer, or are hoping to do so. And we mustnt forget the travel industry, which has to adapt to all the changes. The situation is made more difficult to predict and manage because key countries are out of sync. Infection rates are soaring here in the UK and rising in the Balearics (those in Majorca for example have increased ten-fold in the last month). They are also starting to go up in Greece and this week President Macron warned the French that they were at the start of another coronavirus wave. By contrast, in Italy and Croatia the situation is  for the time-being  more under control. It seems inconceivable, however, that the latest wave can be stopped, nor that it wont quickly soon affect both those countries. The Delta variant is now too widespread and too infectious to be held back for long. So two big risks for travellers this summer are becoming more and more obvious. First is that more destinations may get spooked by their rising rates, look at what is happening in the UK and slap a ban on British holidaymakers. Austria has already done this, Italy imposes five days quarantine on us and France effectively bars unvaccinated holidaymakers. Second, is that our own government will decide that rates are so high in some key destinations that it switches their rating from amber to red. Ironically, it may be some of the island destinations which are most vulnerable to this. While at the beginning of the season, they seemed to hold out hope for holidaymakers because their relative isolation helps protect them from the virus spreading, once it takes hold, its effect may be amplified. Party islands like Ibiza and Zakynthos (which suffered a surge in cases among British holidaymakers last summer) look especially vulnerable. It seems inconceivable that the government would slap a red rating on a major destination without giving enough time for all leisure travellers to get home. It would be political suicide to force holidaymakers to pay for the 10-day hotel quarantine which is required for arrivals from the red zone. But it is quite clear that we will be living on our nerves for the rest of the summer. If you have a holiday booked, hold tight and keep your fingers crossed. If you want to book one, do so only at the last minute.