In a session moderated by TTG Media managing director Daniel Pearce, Deirdre Wells, head of the trade body for inbound tour operators, said: “The perception of this country is xenophobic. We have to counter it. People were voting to leave the EU, they were not voting against European people.”

Wells told of Polish group tours that had been cancelled following the Brexit vote and said the UK ranked fourth or fifth in the world as a tourism destination, but only 13th in terms of its welcome.

“We are already in a position where it is lower than it maybe should be, we have to over-compensate for that. The media and social media in particular don’t help.”

Wells added that the association’s members were “passionately keen” to stay in the EU and acknowledged that the falling pound had helped counter the perception of the UK as being expensive.

“That has got the message out there that it’s time to come to the UK, because we were worried whether there was a slightly xenophobic message getting out.”

The discussion panel also included Aito chairman Derek Moore, who said many of his members had been upset about Brexit. He had been ambivalent, he said, adding: “I hate Brussels, but commercially it makes a lot of sense to remain.”

The Advantage Travel Partnership managing director Julia Lo Bue-Said added: “We got over the shock, life continues and people are still travelling. Our members are not seeing any immediate impact.

“Is somebody not going to travel because the pound is at an all-time low? No. It may make them go all-inclusive, but will it stop them? No.”