Almost a quarter of people claim they currently have a holiday booked to an amber list country, a new study reveals.
Three quarters of those with trips abroad planned over the next few months say they are happy to go against the government’s advice and go ahead, despite Covid testing and ten day quarantine, even if their country doesn’t move to the green list in time.
Of those who said they would still take a foreign holiday, the majority (39%) said they needed to get away for their own mental health, while 27% said they were fully vaccinated and saw no reason not to go.
A further 24% said they were sick of being told what to do, while 23% said they had given up listening to government advice and 15% said the traffic light system was unclear and confusing.
However, 47% of those who have not booked a holiday in an amber list country said that those who were prepared to go were irresponsible.
The poll of 2,000 respondents found that 42% felt people holidaying to a country on the amber list were selfish, while a further 24% said it was up to individuals to make their own decisions.
Those in their 30s and 40s are the most likely to head off anyway, with 82% of those aged 30 to 45 saying they would definitely go abroad to an amber list country.
Fewer (67%) of 16-29 year olds said they would be happy throwing caution to the wind.
But those aged over 50 with holidays booked to an amber list country were the most cautious, with less tan half (44%) planning to go away anyway.
Evie Porter, head of projects at insights agency Perspectives Global which carried out 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.
“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.”