The line chart illustrates the number of overseas tourists who visited the UK for three different purposes—holiday, business, and visiting friends and relatives—over a period of 20 years, starting from 1989. Overall, the popularity of people who came to the UK for a holiday can be seen throughout the period shown. Despite fluctuations, the figure for visitors who went on business or visited friends and relatives saw a steady increase.
In 1989, the number of tourists who went on holiday in the UK stood at about 6.2 million before having a massive leap to peak at nearly 10 million in 1999. After plunging down to 7.5 million, it increased back to 9 million, the highest number among all other figures.
In the first two years, visitors who went to the UK on business decreased significantly from around 5.2 million to 4 million. The number then rocketed to about 7 million in 2000 and was at the same level one year later before achieving the highest point at 8 million. That figure dropped consistently until 2009.
The number of visitors who visited their friends and relatives in the UK experienced a steady increase until it peaked at nearly 7 million in 2004. That number slowly fell to about nearly 6 million one year later.