The first chart below shows the results of a survey which sampled a cross-section of 100,000 people asking if they traveled abroad and why they traveled for the period 1994-98. The second chart shows their destinations over the same period.

The first chart provides data on the number of visits abroad by UK residents from 1994 to 1998, categorized by the purpose of visit and the second chart illustrates the main regions visited during the same period.

Overall

, it can be seen that holiday travel was the predominant reason for UK residents'

trips

abroad, with Western Europe being the most favoured destination from 1994 to 1998.

To begin

with, from 1994 to 1998, the total number of visits abroad increased steadily from 22,072 to 28,828. It is readily apparent that holidays consistently accounted for the majority of

trips

, rising from 15,246 in 1994 to 20,700 in 1998.

Moreover

, business

trips

also

showed a gradual climb, from 3,155 in 1994 to 3,957 in 1998.

Besides

, visits to friends and relatives grew moderately, from 2,689 in 1994 to 3,181 in 1998.

However

,

trips

for other reasons remained relatively stable, fluctuating slightly but staying around 1,000 each year. Shifting to the second chart,

it is clear that

Western Europe was the most popular destination for UK travellers, with a significant lead over North America and other areas, increasing from 19,371 in 1994 to 24,519 in 1998.

In addition

, North America and other regions had comparatively lower but stable numbers of visitors throughout the period.