The near sold-out event will see 130 exhibitors from 95 companies attend – an opportunity, said Thompson, "for all of us to bring wisdom and knowledge as to what the post-Covid world looks like”. Underlining that importance is the attendance of 18 tourist board chief executives.

The industry is expecting firm details of US vaccine, testing and contact tracing requirements to emerge during Travel Week. “I don’t think it will be exceptionally difficult to comply with," said Thompson. "I think it will be something people are already doing if they are travelling at all.”

Brand USA’s job is to promote the US states and communicate travel policy as visitors return. “There will be a lot of the latter,” he said. “The channel we have in the market – and the trade has – will be critical to sharing information. We can say we are ready all we want, but we still have to regain the confidence of consumers, so these next couple of weeks will be critical.”

He praised the UK trade for its diligence during Covid. “The UK travel trade partners have been as engaged as any during the pandemic. Hats off to them; every opportunity they had to be trained, they took. Their role is going to be even more important now because of the uncertainty.”

There are practical issues to consider as the US reopens. The pandemic saw airlines withdraw services and Norwegian exit the transatlantic market altogether, but Thompson said he was unconcerned about capacity. “We’ve said for 20 months we are in a state of readiness. There will be conversations with the carriers that are attending. We feel the market will take care of itself.”

The absence of foreign tourists in the US has been substantially offset by a booming domestic market, meaning attractions like theme parks now have well practised Covid protocols. This, said Thompson, should give UK family visitors confidence. “We feel they are as prepared as any sector to deliver."

While visitor projections are still being quantified, Thompson said “pent-up demand” meant it was likely the US would “out-perform the forecast”. “I think there will be similar pent-up demand to what we had domestically. I have said all along this has never been a demand issue.”

Thompson, though, said he anticipates "as keen competition as we have ever had" as rival destinations gear up to receive visitors, and accepts that comparable experiences can be had elsewhere, but he stressed: “You can only have the US experience in the US.”

Orlando is a destination high on the UK wish list, although the 8 November reopening comes too late for half-term. Nevertheless, Visit Orlando president and chief executive Casandra Matej is confident the one million-plus UK visitors in 2019 will return. “Our goal is seeing 2022 get back to a million, but we think it will be 2023 before we meet or exceed 2019 numbers,” she said.

The "theme park capital of the world" saw domestic tourism surge when restrictions were lifted, with numbers “very similar" to pre-pandemic levels. Now international demand was materialising, according to Matej. “We’re seeing from airlines’ seat capacity that we’re far ahead of many of our US partners. From the UK, we’re seeing airline capacity coming back and they are reporting incredible growth numbers.”

While domestic tourism was critical for Orlando during the pandemic, it still needs UK travellers, who stay an average 11 nights, to return. “We are anticipating visitors from late November," said Matej. "From what we’re hearing, the UK is going to be a strong market."

Orlando’s average daily room rate in September was $112, up 34% year-on-year, but still “probably 20% below” pre-Covid levels according to Matej, suggesting there are likely deals to be had.

To aid its resurgence, Orlando Tourism will reopen some overseas offices, including the UK. “We’re planning on reinstating many of our representatives, making sure we have boots on the ground,” Matej said.

The destination will also relaunch its Travel Academy in January, and will benefit from the 50th anniversary celebrations at Walt Disney World, which got under way last month and are due to last until spring 2023.

To allay any hesitancy among families, Orlando has a clearly defined Covid protocol, which requires masks to be worn on transport and indoors, but not outdoors in theme parks provided visitors – including children – are vaccinated.

Matej added: “We have a 5% Covid rate and more than 1.3 million people – 74% – are vaccinated, and that’s climbing. Visitors will have a safe experience.”

‘Attractive offers’

Other destinations are anxious to see Brits return. Fred Dixon, NYC & Co chief executive, promised visitors “a bonanza for value”, particularly early in 2022. “This is your time,” he said. “You’re going to see some really attractive offers. January and February will be the absolute best value time in a decade, if not longer.”

A joint It’s Time for New York City campaign with British Airways launches in the next few weeks. Average daily room rates at the start of October were $246, compared to $280 pre-pandemic. These are usually inflated by business travel, which Dixon said had yet to return, meaning “good value” rooms and airfares. He also stressed hotel offers for January and February would likely be announced in December.

New York has maintained hotel capacity at 111,000 rooms, despite some closures. New openings include Margaritaville Resort on Times Square, with another 70 projects under way. New attractions include the One Vanderbilt Observation Deck and Little Island Hudson River Park.

NYC & Co’s latest campaign, The Asian Experience, launches in November, highlighting the city’s ethnic food, music and culture following successful Latino and Black Experience initiatives. The city welcomed 1.27 million UK arrivals in 2019. “Our goal is to get back to that as quickly as possible. The Brits are our number-one priority,” Dixon said.

He added travellers should not be concerned about coming to New York. “Yes, people are looking for the outdoors, but they’re also craving arts, culture and urban experiences. Big cities have been proven to be the safest places – we have the highest vaccination rate in the US.”