I have a few dream scenario predictions, but unfortunately they are unlikely to happen. I would love for Brexit to be reversed, as the clear majority of the public finally realise what a spectacularly self-destructive act this truly is, and how they’ve been lied to by politicians. I would also be delighted if Donald Trump were to be impeached. Wouldn’t it be great, too, if Oprah Winfrey announced her intention to run for president in 2020? One poll found 48% of US voters would choose Winfrey, compared with 38% who would vote for Trump.

What is likely to happen in 2018 however, is that Brexit will, once again, dominate the news. And not in a good way. Unfortunately, I expect it to overshadow all the other pressing problems such as social care, climate change, the underfunded NHS, airport capacity and our ridiculously expensive and unreliable train services. With the first and easiest phase of the Brexit negotiations taking more than a year, the British government has only until October to convince itself – and us – that the difficult bits won’t be nearly as difficult to decide upon.

It will also be interesting to see how a newly buoyed Labour Party performs under Jeremy Corbyn in 2018. The majority of Labour voters want to maintain close economic links with the EU. This includes the thousands of younger voters who supported Corbyn at the last election. So Labour’s leader will be under pressure because he’s been notoriously vague on Europe.

In a recent meeting that I had with the shadow chancellor John McDonnell, who is the MP for Hayes and Harlington – the constituency within which Heathrow lies – he confirmed that the Labour party would support expansion at the airport “over his dead body”.

So, given Theresa May’s lack of a majority, it seems very unlikely that we’ll see a decision on Heathrow this side of a general election.

And let’s hope that 2018 doesn’t bring any major failures in the travel industry – although the collapse of Carillion and the news that some of the big high street stores are struggling doesn’t give me grounds for optimism. Let’s hope too that, in light of the Monarch collapse, the CAA levels the playing field by deciding to charge everyone or no one for repatriation. It cannot be right that package holiday clients are obliged to pay £2.50 for Atol protection and people who buy an airline ticket pay nothing.

Finally, here’s wishing for a terrorism-free year for Tunisia, Turkey and Egypt, so that British holidaymakers may, once again, enjoy great-value, quality holidays in those wonderful countries.

Steven Freudmann is chairman of the Institute of Travel & Tourism