Travel stocks on the rise in anticipation of UK government’s green list for

(), easyJet PLC (), () and British Airways owner SA () were on the rise on Tuesday as the UK is about to announce which countries have made it on the ‘green list’.

Weekend reports suggested it might be between ten or 12 countries, including Malta, Gibraltar, Portugal and Israel.

READ: Airlines take off as UK unveils details on COVID-19 passport for international travel

Spain, Greece, France, the Seychelles and have also been rumoured as potential candidates.

The government’s travel plans involve a traffic light system of red, amber and green classifications for countries depending on the perceived COVID-19 risk.

The ‘green’ category means that travellers are not required to quarantine although tests will remain mandatory.

Travel stocks are also getting a boost from the EU’s decision to allow entry for vaccinated people from low-risk countries, while there are also reports that the US is considering to restart tourism.

“Foreign holidays are looking like they could actually happen this year, lifting demand for travel and tourism stocks, which were severely battered across the crisis,” said Sophie Griffiths, analyst at OANDA.

“The European travel and leisure sector is outperforming with gains of around 1.3%.”

TUI jumped 5% to 450.4p while easyJet, Whitbread and IAG added 3% to 1,068p, 1,863p and 208.6p respectively on Tuesday at noon.