Mark Tanzer, chief executive of ABTA the Travel Association has responded to the Brexit discussions: 

“Following today’s news that the Government will be moving to the next phase of Brexit discussions, issues that are of particular concern to the travelling public, such as aviation access and visa-free travel for holidaymakers and business travellers will need to be addressed urgently.

“It is vital that the importance and scale of the travel industry are recognised in the discussions. The UK outbound travel industry generates over €37bn for the economies in the EU, and £28bn for the UK. It also supports hundreds of thousands of jobs and businesses, both here and abroad.

“Many travel companies have already begun to look ahead to 2019, so agreeing transitional arrangements early in the new year will help business to plan and help protect consumer confidence.

“ABTA has been working closely with the EU and the UK government to raise issues on behalf of the industry, and we will continue to do this throughout the next phase of the negotiations.”

ABTA encourages the Government to focus on four central points in relation to travel during the next stage of negotiations:

1. Maintain our ability to travel freely within Europe and beyond
2. Ensure businesses can post staff to support holidaymakers
3. Visa-free travel for holidaymakers and business travellers

4. Protect valuable consumer rights