 A tourist boom began in the mid-1980s but stalled by the end of the decade before being boosted again in the mid-1990s by a programme of Government investment and marketing.The building of the new Gibraltar Cruise Terminal, a new airport terminal, pedestrianisation of key streets, redevelopment of historic buildings in the city centre and improvements to tourist attractions elsewhere on the peninsula have helped to increase tourist numbers considerably since the turn of the 21st century.For much of Gibraltar's history as a British territory, its economy relied on its dual status as a key British military base and a trading entrepôt at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea.