Speaking at the Abta Travel Convention in the Azores, Alan Wardle told delegates: “Businesses need talk to their local MPs – after Brexit we saw businesses [initially] being kept at arms length [from government] and now we are seeing more conversations taking place.

“Speak to your supplier, your local MP – having as many voices in the travel industry saying this is an important issue and we need to sort it out the more, well the more the merrier I say!”

It came as Wardle explained that Abta was continuing to hold discussions in Europe and with the UK government, to “emphasise the scale of the size of the travel industry”.

He said Abta was pushing to secure agreements on aviation, and added that visas were “another unknown”.

“The EU Commission have proposed something similar to the US like Esta but that would mean extra costs. We are trying to preserve as much as we can.

But when we leave, things cannot just remain exactly as they are,” he added.

Wardle also spoke of the frustrations for many in the sector about not being able to prepare for life post-Brexit due to how much is still unknown.

“Our members need to be able to prepare for the changes. That’s one of the big challenges because there is a real sense of uncertainty,” he added.