Speaking at the Abta Travel Law Seminar, Rebecca Thornley-Gibson head of travel at asb law, said it wasn’t necessarily the initial figure of £7.20 an hour that was the problem but rather the planned increase.

“When you look at the salaries that are paid in the travel industry, which are not perhaps the most generous of salaries, there could well be some issues in terms of employers perhaps struggling with the National Living Wage impact and the amount that the government has said it intends to increase it to,” she told the audience.

“If it rises to £9 an hour and actually the economy then turns and declines, it’s not a case that they’re going to be able to say ‘well actually let’s bump this back down to £7.50 an hour’ for example.”

The new policy only affects people 25 and over but there are no discounts for the geographic location.

Businesses that fall foul of the new regime will be dealt with harshly. Fines for non-compliance will be as much as £20,000 per employee and companies will also be named and shamed.

Thornley-Gibson said that some companies could be forced to increase holiday prices as a result.

“It may be something that they look at,” she said.

Meanwhile, Thornley-Gibson said that many firms had failed to do anything about a recent legal case concerning holiday pay.

An employment tribunal recently ruled that commission should be included in calculations over holiday pay – a decision, which obviously has the potential to massively impact the travel industry (although an appeal has been lodged).

“The financial implications on employers are quite high actually,” she said.

She added that at the moment, companies weren’t being proactive about it because they were concerned about the potential impact of historical claims.