The graph below shows the number of overseas visitors who came to the UK for different purposes between 1989 and 2009

The line graph highlights data on the

number

of foreign guests that came to the UK for various purposes from 1989 to 2009.

Overall

, the table shows different trends over a period.

While

the

number

of

visitors

for holiday purposes had the highest index, two other factors in terms of business and visiting friends and relatives experienced a slight decrease with fluctuations over the period. More than 6

million

people

flew to the UK to spend their holidays in 1989.

Then

there was gradual growth to 8

million

in 1994. Afterwards, the figure reached a peak of almost 10

million

visitors

in 1998. Meanwhile, the

number

declined sharply to 7

million

people

in 2004. By 2004, the

number

of

visitors

for holiday purposes was 9

million

. Regarding the

visitors

with business interests, the starting point of the index was 5.5

million

people

.

Then

the figure showed a gradual reduction to 4

million

people

in 1994. There was significant growth at 8

million

people

during ten-year periods from 1994 to 2004.

However

,

at the end

of the period, it had decreased to 7

million

by 2009. In terms of

visitors

coming to friends and relatives, the figure was nearly 4

million

people

in 1989, and

then

the index registered gradual growth from 5

million

to 7

million

between 1994 and 2004, respectively. Afterwards, the

number

of

visitors

went down to 6

million

people

in 2009.