Speaking at the Global Travel Group conference in Dubai, Andrew Botterill, chief executive B2B dnata travel Europe, said the company had “pressed pause in the UK right now”.

“But I don’t think it’s a general pause around the globe,” he added. “Dnata is always looking for opportunities in other source markets.

“Maybe across other sectors like Asia there are gaps, but in the UK we have enough to keep us busy. Whatever we’ve done in the UK, it seems to be working well and it’s keeping the owners happy,” he added.

It came as Botterill warned that the forthcoming EU referendum was likely to impact bookings this summer.

“Our industry never performs well when there is uncertainty,” he admitted. “When there is instability our industry reacts negatively by pausing. I think that’s a problem, and depending which way the vote goes, there may still be a level of uncertainty after [June 23] too.”

Botterill also reiterated dnata’s stance on retaining Travel 2 and Gold Medal as two separate brands. “There has been a restructuring and everyone is in the right place.

“From a brand perspective, Travel 2 and Gold Medal are well-loved and respected, and we’re not under any pressure to change that – the trade is up about 40% for both businesses. We continue to debate it and make sure we are making the right decision, but at the moment there’s no reason to change.”

Also on the panel was Silversea’s UK commercial director Lisa McAuley.

She was asked whether she agreed with Azamara president Larry Pimentel, who last week revealed his concerns about the amount of capacity set to flood the luxury market which he said would drive prices down and lead to mergers.

“The luxury market is growing by 4.8% annually. There’s a lot of capacity out there, but cruise is still relatively small in the overall penetration of the luxury market.

“There is a growth opportunity, but there will be challenges,” she added.