The pie charts illustrate the distribution by age of visitors from the UK to Spain in 1983 and 2003.
Overall, the youngest and oldest groups, namely those younger than 16 or older than 54, tended to travel to Spain more in 2003, while decreases were seen in the numbers of travelers of other ages. Additionally, in both years, the figures for the 35 to 54 age group were the highest.
Looking first at the year 1983, what stands out the most is that the 35 to 54 age group accounted for half of the total number, being by far the most common age. The number of this group doubled that of the 25 to 34 age group, and tripled the figure for visitors older than 55, despite these two groups having the second and third highest proportion that year, respectively. Meanwhile, the percentage of young people travelling to Spain was marginal, with 10% for children younger than 15 and only 4% for people between 16 and 24 years old.
Turning next to 2003, it can be seen that despite remaining the highest value, the data of visitors aged between 35 and 54 decreased by 15%. A similar pattern was also seen in the number of people aged 25 to 34 – the second most common group in 1983 – which fell to only 12% in 2003. Accounting for the same proportion, together with the 25 to 34 age group, children younger than 15 had the lowest share in 2003. By comparison, the other age groups experienced upward trends, with visitors older than 55 rising by 10%, and those between 16 and 24 tripled.