The line graph shows how much money overseas visitors spent in the UK from 1980 - 2010 and the pie charts show the reasons for their visits in 1980 and 2010. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

The line graph illustrates the amount of money spent by international tourists in the UK from 1980 to 2010,

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the pie charts show their main reasons for visiting in 1980 and 2010.

Overall

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, spending by overseas visitors rose significantly over the period despite fluctuations. Holidays consistently remained the primary reason for travel,

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visits

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to friends and relatives increased substantially by 2010. In 1980, foreign visitors spent around £7.5 billion in the UK. Expenditure peaked at nearly £11.5 billion in 1996 before dropping sharply in the early 2000s. It recovered slightly by 2010, reaching over £10 billion. In terms of purpose, 44.1% of visitors in 1980 came for holidays, followed by business (20.7%) and visiting relatives (18.7%). By 2010, holiday

visits

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had declined slightly to 39.1%,

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visits

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to friends and relatives rose to 28.2%. Business travel

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grew marginally,

whereas

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visits

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for other reasons halved from 16.6% to 9.8%.