The line graph provides information on the number of foreign tourists coming to the UK for three different purposes from 1989 to 2009.
Overall, there was an upward trend in the number of visitors of all types. On a particular note, the most noticeable growth was recorded in the figure for travelers coming to visit their friends or relatives.
While the number of visitors who came to the UK for business purposes made up around 6 million in 1989, the figure for individuals visiting their loved ones stood just under 4 million. However, by 1994, the figure for the former had declined sharply to roughly 4 million, and the number for the latter had reached the same point at the same time. Moreover, over the following 10 years, both trends experienced dramatic growth, crossing at a level of around 6.5 million. Then, by 2009, the number of overseas visitors for business purposes had a minimal rise of about 1 million, whereas the figure for people visiting their friends or relatives accounted for 6 million.
Regarding tourists who visited the UK for holidays, their number was over 6 million at the beginning of the period, after ten years of increase, their number comprised 9.8 million. Despite reducing enermously,it reached a peak level of 9.5 million in 2009, becoming the dominant sector.