Opening Abta’s Travel Matters conference in London this morning, Tanzer said he believed many delegates attending shared his frustration at “the lack of progress, or clarity” being offered during the ongoing negotiations between the UK and EU.

Revisiting a number of issues he outlined that the travel sector needed to see “urgent progress” on a year ago, Tanzer said when it came to areas such as aviation access, movement of workers, VAT and consumer rights “we still don’t have any clarity”.

“On aviation access, probably the most critical issue, the government has said that is “fully expects” that a deal will be done before March 2019," he said. "The industry, along with the rest of the nation, is holding them to account on this.

“It is right that businesses are speaking out against a ‘no-deal’ exit from the EU, or a ‘cliff-edge’. The attacks on business from senior politicians show how frayed relations have become."

Although despite the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, Tanzer said he believed there was "a bright future for UK tourism” with bookings up in “volume and value”.

“That shows an enduring commitment to and confidence in taking holidays overseas,” he added.

Touching upon Parliament’s vote to green-light expansion at Heathrow, Tanzer said Abta was supportive of the plan but "many obstacles remain to be overcome, not least the cost and the financing of the final plan".

He urged that the agreement to boost capacity at the London airport "must not be compromised" by a steep rise in airport charges", which he predicted would "throttle demand".

"It is very important that the government keeps a close eye on this," he said.