Spending by over-50s households on travel and tourism has increased by 23% over the past five years while the equivalent outlay by younger households has fallen by 5%, the report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research and Saga found.

Older travellers, who last year spent £39bn on travel, now account for 58% of all travel and tourism expenditure, up from 49% just five years ago.

While Europe remains a firm favourite among the over 50s, they are taking longer holidays to destinations such as the Borneo Rainforest, the Andes and the Silk Route through Uzbekistan.

Over the past decade the growth in holiday spending has been particularly marked among those aged 65 -74 and 28% of overseas holidays taken by those over 55 last longer than two weeks.

In 2015, older travellers spent an estimated £2.1bn on cruises. This is expected to increase by 37% to £2.8bn by 2020.

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Andrew Strong, chief executive officer of Saga Holidays, said: “Older people are today healthier and wealthier than ever before and look forward to experiencing the world in style, which is great news for those in the UK travel industry who can help them achieve their dreams.”