That was the warning from Paul Alexander, chief executive of Beyond Analysis, who told delegates at the ITT Conference in Split that although Brexit had undoubtedly impacted on the travel industry, the real disruption was in fact Google’s “secret” plans to dominate the sector.

“Travel accounts for 15% of Google’s overall revenue,” he pointed out. “That’s a massive number. It’s been consolidating all travel offers in one place, and that place is called Google Trips – that’s what’s coming to the industry next.”

It came as Alexander urged travel businesses to think more strategically about the future.

“It’s clear to me that businesses are not doing enough regarding data and we are sleepwalking into the future,” he warned.

Elsewhere, Mooly Eden, chairman of the University of Haifa explored the evolution of technology, and how far humans will be replace by machines in the future.

He pointed out for instance that artificial intelligence has previously struggled to distinguish between a muffin and a Chihuahua – leading to some rather interesting image results. But Eden stressed that machine learning was improving at a rapid pace.

He concluded by recommending delegates follow the advice of US computer scientist Alan Kay: “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.”