The two pie charts illustrate the age distribution of visitors from the UK to Spain in 1983 and 2003. Overall, the age distribution of UK visitors to Spain became more diversified over the two decades, with the 35-54 age group retaining its dominant position, despite a substantial contraction. By contrast, the share of visitors aged 16-24, which started from a relatively low base, increased markedly.
Focusing initially on decreases, visitors aged 35-54 constituted half of all UK tourists to Spain (50%) in 1983. Although this demographic declined considerably to 35% by 2003, it remained the largest visitor group. Meanwhile, people from the 25-34 age bracket represented the second-largest group of visitors (20%) in 1983 but fell noticeably to 12% over the two decades.
Turning to the remaining categories, individuals within the 16-24 demographic were the smallest group of visitors to Spain (4%) in 1983 yet rose to 15% in 2003, while those from the 0-15 age category increased slightly to 12% in 2003 from 10% in 1983. Strikingly, the 55+ age group accounted for 16% of the visitors in 1983, but it increased by 10 percentage points, thereby overtaking the 25-34 age group and becoming the second most prevalent group of visitors to Spain in 2003.