Obama praises tourism industry - UPI.com 19 (UPI) -- President Obama praised progress made in the American travel and tourism industry, noting increased visa processing capacity and border efficiency Wednesday. In a White House statement, the president mentioned an executive order from earlier in the year, directing federal agencies to aggressively expand the United States' ability to welcome and attract visitors. He said the results could be seen in Department of Commerce statistics noting an 8.1 percent increase in U.S. exports in 2011 from 2010, a 3 percent gain in spending by international tourists in July 2012 compared to July 2011, and travel and tourism-related exports increasing more than $1.1 billion per month during the first seven months of 2012. He also pointed out that 88 percent of visa applicants are interviewed within three weeks of submitting an application to a consular office.