Last checked at 
* Times says Britain may warn against trips to Spain
* France has expressed anger at British rules
(Recasts headline and lede para with Johnson)
LONDON, Aug 2 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris
Johnson said on Monday that he wanted to get the travel industry
moving again with a simple user-friendly system to allow for
trips abroad without importing new variants of the coronavirus.
"We need to get people, get the travel industry moving
again," Johnson told reporters. "We want an approach that is as
simple as we can possibly make it."
Britain has double vaccinated a higher proportion of its
population against COVID-19 than most other countries, but the
government has prevented travel to many destinations by imposing
rules that the travel industry says are hobbling the economy.
Johnson's travel regulations have angered some of Britain's
European allies, frustrated millions of sun-seeking Britons and
brought warnings from airports, airlines and tour companies.
In a letter to Johnson that was leaked to media, finance
minister Rishi Sunak called for an urgent easing of travel
restrictions.
The Times newspaper reported that Britain planned to warn
holidaymakers against visiting popular tourist destinations such
as Spain because of concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.
Such a step could trigger an exodus of about a million
British tourists already abroad, cause further damage to the
travel sector and deal a new blow to southern Europe's summer
tourist season.
A spokesperson for Britain's transport ministry declined to
comment on The Times report, published on the day when rules
were eased for double-vaccinated travellers from the United
States and most of Europe.
Under rules to be reviewed on Thursday, double-vaccinated
travellers can return without quarantining from countries rated
"amber" on a "traffic-light" list assessing the COVID-19 risk.
Those returning from red-list countries - the most severe
risk - must pay 1,750 pounds ($2,436) to spend 10 days in a
hotel.
An amber watchlist was due to be signed off on Thursday but
a split in the government could delay a decision, The Times
said.
Citing the threat posed by the Beta coronavirus variant,
England has maintained quarantine rules for double-vaccinated
travellers from France, while scrapping the requirement for
travellers from other medium-risk "amber" countries.
France has complained, saying the bulk of its Beta variant
cases come from the island of La Reunion in the Indian Ocean.
($1 = 0.7183 pounds)
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Kate Holton,
Timothy Heritage, William Maclean)
