•David

At an ABTA briefing on Tuesday, trade and competition attorney Neil Baylis said he's confident that the EU will give the UK a trade deal similar to Canada's, but that travel companies should have contingency plans in case Brexit finalizes without a deal in place.

UK airlines are particularly exposed to potential damage from Brexit, should a new aviation agreement not be finalized by the end of 2020.

Hotelplan UK CFO Andrew Stuart reported that the environment in the EU toward hiring workers from the UK is more hostile now than a year ago.

A potential labor shortage in the UK following Brexit is also a concern of UK hoteliers should restrictions be placed on the free movement of EU citizens after 2020, as there are currently 150,000 non-British EU citizens working in the UK hospitality industry.

Action on these issues from Theresa May's government has been very slow in coming. And the Brexit transition period begins in just over a year and one week from now.