The issue of giving advice about safety and security to holidaymakers has become more pressing following a series of high-profile terrorist attacks, said Claire Mulligan, head of travel at Kennedys Law, and in particular the massacre of tourists at a resort in Sousse, Tunisia, in 2015.

She added that it was important to train sales staff on what to say to clients about safety and security.

“How should you be advising them about terrorism and other things?” asked Mulligan. “How do you suggest to customers to look at safety warnings and advice?

“What do agents say about the risk? You should be training your staff to say the same thing [as one another]. Don’t leave it to chance – do some training on this.”

Mulligan advised companies to look at the Foreign Office (FCO) website and give customers links to the site so they can make their own decisions about whether to travel to a destination or not.

“Think about what the training should be when people are being asked to give advice on safety and security,” she added. “Nobody can guarantee safety anywhere and they would be foolish to do so.”

Karen Hart, head of legal and consumer affairs at DialAFlight, said the company “tried to cover every single base” when it came to giving advice on destination safety.

“We always say we cannot guarantee that it’s safe,” she told the seminar. “We give them [the customer] links and let them make a choice.

“We give the customer the facts and leave it to them once they have had the chance to think about it.”