Improving American tourism

I have always loved the idea of increased domestic tourism. Few countries, if any, offer the cultural and geographic diversity that the contiguous United States does. Every year, thousands of American college students travel around Europe easily and safely on passenger trains. The train allows them to catch up on sleep, meet fellow travelers from around the globe and arrive at their destination without having to worry about the language barriers or rules of the road that could make navigating European highways quite treacherous.

Attracting foreign students and all international tourists to hop from city to city on soon-to-be-improving Amtrak service will not only spur additional economic activity, but increase America's profile as a global tourist destination that is easy and affordable to navigate. Granted this also depends on making our major cities more walkable and transit friendly, but I digress. Similar to the popular Eurail Pass, Amtrak currently has USA Rail Pass which could be an attractive option for those looking to see as much of the US as possible during their time abroad.

Below is a quick video (less than 2 mins) from the Oval Office of President Obama signing the Travel Promotion Act.

Obama Sees Rail Potential - "Railroads Were Always The Pride Of America"

President Barack Obama speaking Wednesday covered in Thursday's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

"'I think there's enormous opportunities here,' he said. 'Railroads were always the pride of America and stitched us together. Now, Japan, China, all of Europe, have high-speed rail systems that put ours to shame. And the potential economic benefits of a high-speed rail link between Chicago and Milwaukee, so that people are avoiding I-94, or the link between Chicago and St. Louis, Detroit, all those Midwestern cities, I think is enormous and is a very real option. Although gas prices are low right now, it becomes a very meaningful option for people who don't want to take off their shoes (for screening), drive to an airport, pay for parking, suffer delays.'

He also said improving freight rail in the region was critical and 'would help with the whole distribution of goods in the region (and) would save businesses a lot of money.'"