Travel agents are hailing the latest Scottish Government announcement as "good news" after four new places are added to the quarantine exempt list.

Now Scots travelling from the Canary Islands, Denmark, the Maldives and the Greek island of Mykonos will not have to quarantine upon arrival in Scotland.

However, travellers from Liechtenstein must quarantine on arrival in Scotland for 14 days from 4am on Sunday.

Nonetheless, the Scottish Passenger Agents' Association (SPAA) is calling it "good news" for the travel industry. 

President of the SPAA Joanne Dooey said: "At last, a piece of positive news for the travel industry as some key countries for leisure travel are added to the safe list.

"The Canaries in particular are a hugely important destination for Scots' holidays. With Mykonos also back on the safe list along with the Maldives this gives travellers the chance to travel to catch some winter sun after a long, dark year.

"And it shouldn't be forgotten than there is a group of Scots who own holiday homes in the Canaries who will now be able to travel to and from their second homes without quarantine."

However, she added: "It remains to be seen if this move today which is very welcome has come in time to save jobs and businesses in travel."

According to the Scottish Government, Lichtenstein has seen a significant rise in cases of coronavirus as well as the associated risk of importation into Scotland.

However, also from Sunday, travellers arriving from the Canary Islands, Denmark,  the Maldives and the Greek island of Mykonos will no longer need to quarantine due to the low number of cases.

Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “I cannot stress enough, that lifting quarantine restrictions on some destinations, in line with the public health data we have received, is not a green light that it is safe to book foreign travel.

"We are still in the middle of a global pandemic and all travel carries a risk. The volatility of the virus means that there is no guarantee that exempt countries or regions will remain on this list in future weeks.

"People should keep this in mind if they decide to book travel abroad.

“Imposing quarantine restrictions on those arriving in the UK is our first defence in managing the risk of imported cases from communities with high risks of transmission and it is vital that we use these measures  in our efforts to suppress the virus.

“We will continue to have regular discussions with the other three governments in the UK.”