A report in The Daily Telegraph suggests that the Cayman Islands will be one of a handful of countries to be placed on the UK’s green list of travel destinations when it revises its ‘traffic light’ list of countries on 7th June. It is likely to join a small number of other Caribbean destinations, which includes the British Virgin Islands, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and Nevis and Anguilla and just a few other countries, including Fiji, Malta and Finland.
According to the report, the Cayman Islands was “on the cusp” of being included in the first lot of green light countries, announced on 7th May and which will take effect on 17th May.
“Fiji, the Cayman Islands, Grenada, Finland and Malta are other destinations with Covid infection and variant rates low enough to put them on a shortlist for inclusion in Friday's "green list" but just missed a place,” the Telegraph stated.
Cayman’s closing of its borders and strict quarantine provisions for incoming travelers has meant zero Covid among the local community. The UK’s traffic light system looks at a country’s rate of infection, the volume of variants to Covid among the population and the percentage of the population vaccinated in order to determine if a country gets the green light.
If a country has a green light, people from the UK who have vacationed there do not need to quarantine when they return home. Currently there are just 12 countries that have had the green light - Portugal including the Azores and Madeira, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, St Helena, Tristan de Cunha and Ascension Island. This has caused uproar in the UK where travel-starved Brits have been banned from taking vacations for a number of months as there are very few countries on the list which could be termed vacation destinations and Australia and New Zealand are closed to visitors.
The news will also be welcomed by Cayman’s tourism industry which, while currently on its knees, may well see a slight uptick in trade from British travelers comfortable with travelling to the Cayman Islands and putting up with quarantine restrictions upon arrival.
The Telegraph noted that major holiday destinations for Brits such as France, Spain, Greece and Italy are not being contemplated for the green light any time soon.
The report states the new green list is expected to be decided in the week running up to 7th June, when the second phase of destinations will be opened to holidaymakers. The UK Government is taking a cautious approach to the reopening of vacation spots for British people. It is likely a third set of additions will coincide with the UK Government's revue of foreign travel policy, taking place on 28th June.
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