http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ST.INT.RCPT.CD?locations=US http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ST.INT.RCPT.CD?locations... International tourism to the US

http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ST.INT.RCPT.CD?locations=US http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ST.INT.RCPT.CD?locations... International tourism to the US is worth about $220 billion a year, with strong year-over-year growth every year since the recession ended. A 6.8% drop does indeed translate to billions of dollars, which can indeed be assumed to translate into hundreds of thousands of workers. No, a 6.8% drop over the course of a few weeks is not "just random". Statisticians know how to control for things like seasonality and can normally predict expected numbers very precisely, barring some external factor -- like the President of the United States sending a clear message that foreigners are not welcome.