International travel is declining, and it's costing the US: 'It's shaking everything up'

Ryan Estrada and Kim Hyun Sook recently made the difficult decision to cancel their months-long visit to the U.S. this summer. They had spent years planning this trip, sacrificing others for this major one – Kim even denied renewing her job contract for it.

Cartoon artist Estrada and his wife Kim, a Korean graphic novel author, have been living in her home country for the past several years. This trip was their opportunity to visit Estrada's family and also meet with libraries across the country to talk about their books that they collaborate on. Kim was planning to be in the U.S. on a tourist visa for the permitted three months while Estrada, an American-born citizen, was going to arrive earlier and leave later.

They were all set for their trip when they heard the news about graphic artist Rebecca Burke being detained and banned from the U.S. The British national, who was using homestays for her accommodations, was attempting to travel from Seattle to Vancouver during a backpacking sojourn throughout North America.

"She's a friend of friends, and it just kind of scared me," Estrada said. "And everything after that, it seemed like every day there were two or three new stories that touched on exactly what we were afraid of." By that, he means the high-profile detainments and deportations of several green card holders, the enhanced scrutiny at U.S. borders, and the overall agenda of increased national security by the Trump administration. Even some U.S. citizens are hesitant to travel outside the country's borders.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/international-travel-declining-costing-us-090543078.html