'The refund issue is not the only crisis facing the industry'

It’s one that will come to the boil further down the line, at the end of June, when the government’s financial support for furloughed staff is slated to end.

And with no significant surge in holiday bookings expected by then, there are many firms which have no idea how they’ll pay staff once funding ends.

“We’re treading water now, but when we go back into our shops, will we be able to afford to keep our staff and have them all there? I don’t think so, unless we get funding from banks,” Joanne Dooey, owner of Love To Travel, points out (p6).

Abta is also increasingly concerned. Head of public affairs Luke Petherbridge confirmed in the latest TTG virtual seminar the association was already in conversation with government – and it seems keen to push for “some kind of continued salary support if the government wants to avoid job losses in the long run”.