Merriman said the changes were a "move in the right direction" that would offer "more potential for quarantine-free holidays for UK travellers".
Travel had been anticipating an announcement from UK transport secretary Grant Shapps at around 5pm on Thursday (24 June).
Around an hour later, the Northern Ireland Executive published a list of 16 additions to its green list, including the Balearic Islands, Malta, Madeira and several Caribbean destinations.
To date, Stormont has reciprocated the green list as detailed by the UK government in Westminster, as have the other devolved administrations in Edinburgh and Cardiff.
At around 7.30pm on Thursday, the Scottish government confirmed it would adopt the same green list additions as Northern Ireland.
Despite welcoming the additions, Merriman likened the update to an oasis "just out of reach", warning the government’s rules would continue to ensure travel to more than 150 amber list countries remains "unnecessarily difficult".
