The graphic gives information about visitors coming into the UK from other countries. The line graph totals the money these visitors spent whilst in the UK over a thirty-year period and the pie charts illustrate why people came to the country in 1980 and 2010.
When looking at the line graph, we can see that despite considerable fluctuation over the period, the trend is upward with visitors spending over 2 billion more in 2010 compared with the start of the period. There was a considerable peak in 1996 when visitors spending reached 12 billion pounds, being the largest amount of the period.
Turning to why visitors came to the country, we can see that the reason for most visits to the UK was for a holiday but this proportion fell by five percent from 44.1% to 39.1% when comparing the two years. Similarly, visits for ‘other’ reasons also fell. On the other hand, the proportion of visitors coming for business or to visit friends and family both rose with the latter increasing by nearly 10%.
Overall, we can see that visitors spend a large amount of money in the UK and this sum of money seems to be increasing. Furthermore, the reasons for people coming to the country seem to be shifting.
211