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Travellers over the age of 55 are showing an increasing interest in holidays that are exciting and adventurous, it has been claimed.

Sean Tipton, press officer at the Association of British Travel Agents (Abta), said there are a number of factors contributing to this trend, including the improving health of the British population.

He also claimed that the extent to which the travel market has developed means that many older holidaymakers have already engaged in the more regular pursuits the industry has to offer.

'It's a cliche that 60 is the new 40 and 70 is the new 50, but the reason behind that is that we are probably a lot healthier than we've ever been,' Mr Tipton said.

'Also we've been taking foreign holidays as a nation en masse for about 40 years now so if you're talking about people over 55 then they've been abroad a great many times and a lot of them are quite bored just sitting on a beach.'

A recent survey carried out for the Foreign Office found that 20% of people over the age of 55 took more risks on holiday than they did at home.

It also revealed that 65% of over-55s did not take out travel insurance for their last holiday.

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