The given bar chart illustrates changes in the number of occupations in tourism-related industries in one UK city from 1989 to 2009.
Overall, it is clear that, except for the year 1994, restaurants registered the highest number of jobs provided in this city while that of travel and tours remained lowest over the research period.
In 1989, the number of jobs in restaurants stood at the highest starting point of about 1100. This figure then saw a steady increase and reached a peak of just over 1600 in 2004 before declining to well under 1400 in 2009. Hotels recorded the second largest number of occupations during the entire period, with the only exception in the year 1994 when it had 1400 jobs and overtook the leading position previously held by restaurants. After that, the number of hotel-related posts dropped gradually to just over 1000 in 2009.
The number of jobs in travel and tours also witnessed the same trend as that of hotels as it reached a peak of roughly 1050 in 1994 before decreasing considerably to about 420. The last sector – sport and leisure – experienced the most unpredictable pattern in the number of jobs provided. In the first five years of the surveyed period, this figure fell to approximately 660. Then, it rose sharply to 1050 in 1999 before dropping back to nearly 700 in 2009.