BRITS face missing out on a hot holiday abroad – while European tourists are booking trips and flocking to tourist attractions.
The UK removed Portugal from the green list last week, leaving very few holiday destinations open to British tourists without a mandatory 10-day quarantine.
However, across the sea, flight bookings between European destinations including Spain, France and Italy soared 110 per cent last month, and are rising.
Popular destinations include Palma, Ibiza and Crete, according to Skyscanner as families head to the beach resorts.
However, UK to EU destination flight are just 20 per cent of the pre-pandemic levels.
Flights to Portugal jumped when it was added to the green list by 74 per cent although this then dropped when it was added to the amber list just three weeks later.
With EU restrictions also lifting from July 1 with Covid passports, European touristswill be able to travel with fewer restrictions.
Beaches in Europe are already packed with tourists as a heatwave sweeps the continent, while British tourists stay away.
Some holiday resorts and airlines are priroristing different tourists this year, due to the rules preventing Brits frmo returnign.
EasyJet boss Johan Lundgren told the Financial Times that they had increased flight capacity, but for Germany.
He explained:“[The] relaxation and removal of restrictions has sparked a positive booking momentum across Europe, with the majority of our bookings showing a strong swing towards Europe when in normal times it would be a 50-50 split with the UK.
The UK government is also pushing for domestic trips, instead of holidays abroad this summer.
A new scheme is also being launched later this year which will offer cheap train tickets and discounted tourist attractions for Brits, to encourage staycation holidays.
Shadow Trade Secretary Emily Thornberry warned that foreign holidays are "very unlikely" to go ahead while Environment Secretary George Eustice said Brits should stay at home this summer as the spread of the Indian variant has wrecked plans to reopen travel.
He also said it was unlikely that any countries would be added to the UK's green list anytime soon, quashing hopes of a trip abroad next month without quarantine restrictions.
Countries abroad are already welcoming Brits back despite the UK travel warning with Spain and Portugal lowering entry restrictions for UK arrivals.
Fully vaccinated Brits can also visit France with just an antigen test.
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