The graph illustrates the number of overseas visitors to the UK for three different purposes-holiday, business, and visiting friends or relatives—between 1989 and 2009.
Overall, holiday was the most popular reason for visiting the UK throughout the period, despite fluctuations, while visits for business and to friends or relatives showed a steady rise.
In 1989, around 7 million visitors came to the UK for holidays, nearly twice the figure for business (3.5 million) and significantly higher than visits to friends or relatives (approximately 4 million). Holiday visits peaked in 1999 at 9 million before declining to around 7.5 million by 2009.
In contrast, business visits increased gradually from 3.5 million in 1989 to 7 million in 2009, overtaking visits to friends or relatives in the mid-1990s. Meanwhile, visits to friends or relatives also grew steadily, reaching around 6.5 million by the end of the period.
Despite some variations, the upward trends in business and social visits suggest increasing diversity in the purposes of travel to the UK.