 Although the population of Gibraltar numbers only some 30,000 people, the territory recorded nearly 12 million visits in 2011, giving it one of the highest tourist-to-resident ratios in the world.The Government of Gibraltar has sought to develop the tourism sector to replace Gibraltar's former dependence on the British military, its chief economic mainstay until cuts in the UK's Ministry of Defence budget led to the gradual run-down in the military presence after the 1980s.Gibraltar's marinas – one of which was the first to have been built in the region – have made Gibraltar an important hub for sea transport for over 50 years.