The line graph illustrates how much money was spent by tourists in the UK between 1980 and 2010, while the two pie charts compare the main reasons for their visits in 1980 and 2010. The figures are given in billion pounds for the line graph and in percentages for the pie charts.
Overall, tourist expenditure in the UK showed a fluctuating but generally upward trend over the period. Regarding the purpose of visits, holidays remained the most common reason, although visiting friends or relatives became more popular by 2010.
In 1980, spending by overseas visitors stood at around £7.5 billion, but this figure dropped slightly to £6.8 billion by 1982. A gradual increase followed, reaching approximately £9.5 billion in 1990. This was then followed by another dip, before a sharp rise began in 1993. Despite minor fluctuations, spending peaked at over £10.5 billion by the end of the period.
Turning to the pie charts, holidays accounted for the largest share of visits in 1980 at 44%, while business trips, visiting friends or relatives, and other reasons were almost equally distributed, each comprising around 16–20%. By 2010, the proportion of holiday-related visits had declined slightly, while the share of people visiting friends or relatives had almost doubled. Business travel saw a modest increase, whereas visits for other reasons fell to below 10%.