The graph illustrates the number of overseas visitors travelling to the UK for three reasons, over a twenty-year period between 1989 and 2009.
Overall, the number of visitors for holiday and work purposes experienced significant fluctuations, while visits to see friends showed a steady increase.
In detail, the number of holiday visitors started at approximately 6.5 million in 1989 and remained stable until 1991, before rising significantly to over 9 million around 1995. This trend then fell to just under 7 million by around 2002, before rising again to about 9 million by 2009. Similarly, visitors who came for work began at 5 million, dropping to 4 million around 1992, and showed fluctuations before reaching 7 million by the end of the period.
In contrast, visitors traveling to meet friends steadily increased from around 3 million in 1989, peaking at 7 million in 2008, although this number slightly decreased to 6 million by 2009.
