When I was on an organized tour this past summer, the organizers that there may be a decrease in numbers due to the economy and that state was hit particularly hard. The numbers were about the same maybe down a little but I think that the flat route had more to do with that. But I doubt that alot of out of work people would fork out a couple of hundred dollars to sign up for the tour and the additional cost of food (my wife would bring me back to earth if I were in that situation). It is still cheaper to sit at home and cook food in your house than being on a tour and you can't be on a job search when touring.