NICOLA Sturgeon has said she would not book a foreign holiday right now due to the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The First Minister stressed the rules around travelling abroad may change "at very short notice" and the safest option is to stay in Scotland.
It comes after quarantine rules for those returning from Spain to Scotland were reintroduced just days after being relaxed.
Holidaymakers have been told they will have to self-isolate for 14 days on their return.
Ms Sturgeon said there has been a "worrying resurgence" in coronavirus cases in countries across Europe, including Spain and Belgium.
She said: "You cannot assume that the rules and regulations applying to or in your destination when you book a holiday will stay the same while you are there or be the same when you come to travel home."
Speaking at her regular Covid-19 briefing, the First Minister said she was "very clear" last week that the rules may change "at very short notice".
She added: "You cannot assume that because a country is in one list when you book a holiday and go there, that it will be on that list when you come home.
"And that is why I continue to say to people – and I take no pleasure in saying this, because of the impact on individuals and the impact on industries that are very important to Scotland – but right now, be very, very cautious about booking foreign travel that is not essential."
She added: "I want to be really blunt and really clear with people: if you're asking me, I wouldn't be booking a foreign holiday right now because of these reasons.
"If I had time to go on holiday, I'd be choosing to spend it here in Scotland."
Ms Sturgeon said: "Last week, because the most up to date data that we had on Spain showed that its prevalence was closer to Scotland, we thought given the impact of these decisions on the aviation and tourist sector then we could make a move on Spain.
"But the data that we then saw at the weekend showed that there had been a doubling of cases in the most recent weeks.
"Unfortunately that's the basis on which we have to take these decisions."
Earlier, she said: "It may seem a bit odd, given the current numbers here in Scotland, but I remain highly concerned, possibly increasingly concerned again about the Covid risk.
"We are currently seeing a worrying resurgence in Covid cases, not just in faraway parts of the world but also in several countries across Europe right now.
"For example parts of Spain and Belgium have seen increases in Covid in the past couple of weeks, and we're seeing outbreaks in countries like Germany and France."
Ms Sturgeon said Scotland must guard against the risk of cases coming into the country.
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