The line graph illustrates the number of international visitors traveling to the UK for three separate reasons from 1989 to 2009. Overall, an upward trend was observed in all the categories in question, albeit to varying degrees, with holiday remaining the most popular motive for travelling throughout the whole period. Of particular note is that business consistently accounted for the second-largest share of visits over the period studied, whereas meeting friends and relatives constituted the least frequent rationale for travel.
Looking at holiday travelling first, holiday was the most popular reason for travelling to the UK, standing at roughly 6,5 million in 1989, after which it witnessed a steady rise to 9 million in 1994 prior to declining substantially, bottoming out at approximately 6,7 million in 2004. Meanwhile, it edged upwards, culminating in a peak of just over 9,1 million.
Turning to business, around 5 million visitors travelled to the UK for business purposes in 1989, then a figure which experienced a slight dip to 4,1 million before increasing significantly to roughly 6,7 million in 1999. This was followed by business motives for travelling creeping upwards, reaching its all-time point of 8 million in mid-2004, and then it decreased consistently to 7 million by the end of the period.
With regard to meeting friends and relatives, it was the least common reason for travelling to the United States, accounting for 3,5 million at the beginning of the period; thereafter, it adhered to an upward trend, attaining a peak of an overwhelming 8,1 million in mid-2004. Finally, a negligible decline was the case in the figure for international visitors travelling to the UK, tailing off 6 million in 2009.