Kevin Lavery, vice-chairman of the Mature Marketing Association, also advised delegates to ensure that their website was “friendly to the over-50s market”, with regards to colours and typeface used. “Some people can feel alienated. Older people don’t want to be specifically catered to in advertising,” he said. “They just want to be included.”

Lavery also warned companies against using single-person imagery in their over-50s advertising, as “in some cases it can remind people of loss or bereavement”.

Instead, when recommending breaks for solo travellers, Lavery advised delegates to use images featuring groups of people.

And he reminded delegates of how wide-ranging the over-50s market is, stressing that a 51-year-old has very different demands to an 81-year-old.

“There are many shades of grey – the over-50s market is not one homogenous group,” he added.