Fraser Ellacott, director of customer operations for Tui UK and Ireland said 2015 had proved “very strong, without a doubt”, but echoed Flambert’s comments that increased spend by passengers was the notable trend, with long-haul seeing significant growth. “Consumers are wanting widening experiences – we’re seeing a lot of demand for our differentiated product and long-haul.”

The airline world, however, has seen a reversal of this trend. Etihad Airways UK general manager James Harrison said the carrier had also experienced a positive 2015, with growth in passenger numbers, but added: “We’ve struggled in yield, from the cost of passenger tickets.

“I would say it’s the same across all airlines, because of competition.”

Stephen Rhodes, managing director of Funway Holidays, added: “It’s the same across the US. There are so many airlines there coming out with new prices, and they’re competitive.”

Paul Broughton, commercial director of Travelport, said airlines were now turning to other avenues to bring in revenue. “Twenty percent of airlines’ revenue is being driven by ancillaries. You can see why, when they are offering fares for [low prices], it’s a revenue driver,” he said.

Dealing with terrorism

Despite the positivity, however, the group conceded that there was no doubt the terrorist atrocities which devastated top tourist destinations this year would impact the industry.

“In the last TTG Industry Forum ­ [in March], we were discussing the election, but it came out with a definitive result, and it meant the uncertainty was gone,” said Derek Jones, managing director of Kuoni. “And so our second quarter was strong because of it. But now we’ve started to see the impact of geopolitical uncertainty.”

He added that the recent events in Paris two weeks ago had significantly shifted perceptions. “We’re used to seeing terrorism, but it was always in the long-haul markets and people just switched destinations from East to West. Now it’s interesting because suddenly it’s closer to home… The real question will be what happens in January and where we are starting from. We started from a good place in January this year; we might not be starting there again in 2016,” he said.

“There will likely be a shift,” agreed Jonathan Sloan, managing director of Hills Balfour. “Because Paris is close to home, it might impact the industry as a whole. There are those people that said they would go to the US instead of the Middle East that are now saying ‘I don’t want to travel’.

“It’s how long that will take to change. We’re very close to the booking period in January now, and if it goes into that, that could change things, and maybe see it move into the shorter booking periods that we’ve seen before.”

Advantage Travel Partnership’s head of commercial John Sullivan insisted that price was often a key draw to lure consumers back. “There are certain sectors of people that will be saying they won’t go to this destination, but then when it hits a certain price, they go,” he insisted.

“But then how do we change that messaging away from price?” asked Lynn Narraway, UK and Ireland managing director of Holland America and Seabourn. “Prices will come down to encourage people to travel but how do we then come back from that?”

Karl Thompson, UK and Europe managing director of Sandals Resorts, suggested destinations may look to target new markets in a bid to boost business, if families are too wary to bring their children to certain resorts. “Could the operators perhaps change their product offering? Maybe they will focus more on couples rather than families?”

Despite the concerns, Ellacott summed up the general mood of the forum: “Historically, there has never been anything as resilient as the British public”.

“The best way to support a country is to travel there, and customers understand that,” added Jones. “We should run towards the problem, not away from it.”

“The once-a-year family holiday – I just can’t see that stopping,” said Harrison. “It’s the discretionary stuff – the three days extra here or there [that might be altered].”

The forum agreed that customers would favour familiar brands. “They have the credibility that will win, and you can’t create that overnight,” cautioned Thompson.

“It is really difficult thinking about what will happen in peaks,” agreed Richard Dixon, Holidaysplease director. “If it is a bit iffy then we will adapt. We will have to roll up our sleeves and just hope that it will be good.”