Band 9: The line graph shows how much money overseas visitors spent in the UK from 1980 - 2010 and the pie charts show the reasons for their visits in 1980 and 2010. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

The line graph illustrates the amount of money spent by overseas visitors in the UK between 1980 and 2010, while the pie charts compare their reasons for visiting in 1980 and 2010.

Overall, spending increased over the period despite fluctuations, and holidays remained the main reason for visiting, although visits to friends or relatives became more common.

In terms of expenditure, visitors spent about £8 billion in 1980, after which the figure dropped to its lowest point of £7 billion by 1985. Spending then fluctuated but generally rose, peaking at £12 billion in 1996. Afterwards, it declined to around £9.5 billion before ending at approximately £10.5 billion in 2010.

Regarding the reasons for visits, holidays were the most popular in both years, though the proportion fell from 44.1% in 1980 to 39.1% in 2010. Visits to friends or relatives increased significantly from 18.7% to 28.2%, overtaking business trips, which rose slightly from 20.7% to 22.8%. Other purposes almost halved, decreasing from 16.6% to 9.8%.