Obama: Tourism translates into jobs

President Barack Obama visited the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, on Thursday, contributing the jacket that he wore when he threw out the first pitch at the All-Star Game in 2009 against a backdrop that he used to talk about the tourism industry.

“I’m here in Cooperstown to talk about some new steps that will lead to more tourism not just within America but getting more folks to come and visit the treasures, the national treasures that we have all across this country, including the Baseball Hall of Fame right here in Cooperstown – because tourism translates into jobs and it translates into economic growth,” Obama said. “When visitors come here, they don’t just check out the Hall.  They rent cars; they stay in hotels; they eat at restaurants.  And that means for Upstate New York, the Baseball Hall of Fame is a powerful economic engine.”

In 2013, the tourism sector was responsible for $1.5 trillion in economic activity in the U.S., supporting 8 million American jobs.

And it’s not just us passing around money to each other that is responsible for all of that activity. Last year, a record 70 million tourists visited America from other countries.

Obama said he would like to see that number grow to 100 million by the end of the decade.

“When tourists come from other countries and spend money here, that’s actually considered a type of export,” Obama said. “We don’t always think about it that way, but we should.  Nothing says Made in America better than the Empire State Building or the Hoover Dam.  Folks who work at restaurants and hotels that serve fans in Cooperstown have the kinds of jobs that can’t be offshored.  And obviously it’s tough to ship the Rocky Mountains or the Grand Canyon overseas.  You can’t do it.”