John Hays told TTG that due to both the timing and the logistics of the event, set to held in the resort of Kemer over 16-19 October, he and members had “made the sensible decision” to pull the plug.

Hays said “a sizeable number” of delegates had been due to travel to the conference with Thomas Cook Airlines, which would have proves difficult to rebook.

Coupled with the desire of members to focus on their clients during this “difficult time” following the collapse of Cook on Monday, the decision was made to pull the conference.

“This week has been very tough on many many people across the industry, but even if things did start to quieten down slightly, our members – quite rightly – have told us they want to make sure they are close to their businesses and are looking after their customers,” said Hays.

An announcement had been sent out to members yesterday to inform them, Hays confirmed, as well as suppliers, who he said had greeted the news “very agreeably”.

He added the group would “definitely” host a conference event next spring but had not yet decided if it would be held in the UK or overseas.