The line graph gives detailed information about the number of overseas people who traveled to the UK for the different purposes from 1989 to 2009. Units are measured in millions.
Overall, despite witnessing gradual fluctuations, the number of holiday visitors purpose gained momentum, leaving other purposes far behind over the ensuing years. Notably, visits to friends and relatives and business followed broadly similar upward trajectories, the former undergoing the most pronounced rise.
Focusing first on the higher figures, starting at 6.2 million in 1989, the figure for holiday travelers to the UK culminated at nearly 9.5million in 1999, the highest figure across all purposes. But in 2004 the figure that then decreased sharply to below 7.9 million. This decrease, however, was short – lived, as the number declined to nearly its original point (7.8 million) in 2009.
Turning to the lower figures, the business travel started as the runner up, but it fell sharply in 1992 to 4 million. The number of attenders who came to the UK to visit to friends or relatives remained the lowest figure at first. However, both figures underwent dramatic increases until exceeding landline in 2004 (7 million) exept short decrease for both sectors to 6 and 7 million respectively by 2009.