Speaking at the Hays Travel Independence Group conference in Vilamoura, Hays Travel managing director John Hays said the economic perspective, with 75% employment in the UK and wage growth outstripping inflation, is rosey.

However, he warned the impact of recent terror attacks, including the Paris shootings, the Sharm el Sheikh aircraft bombing and the summer attack on the beaches of Tunisia, may yet impact the key selling period starting in January.

Hays said: “That extra money (earned by) the record number of people who are working in the UK is there to spend on holidays.

“There’s a but coming and the big but at the moment is terrorism and the disruption terrorism is causing our industry.

“Who knows what’s going to happen tomorrow or the day after and the resilience of the UK holiday maker?

“How scared are they going to be and how committed are they going to be to commit in January to go on holiday in August?

“It is a concern for everyone in this room.”

Hays said the industry is already dealing with the impact, with even the IG conference being affected by an increase in security worries.

He added: “It is causing disruption, I know one of the flights for this conference was delayed because of a security scare.

“I just can’t foresee anything other than more disruption which makes holidays less enjoyable and how much is the fear of travelling going to impact on our industry?

“I genuinely don’t know but all of us in the industry know it is going to be negative.”

However, Hays said following the increased disruption, customers are increasingly reverting to buying packages, not just for the financial protection but for the peace of mind generated in resort thanks to a safety net being in place should problems occur.