Obama vows to boost tourism in battleground state of Florida

President Obama touted speedier visa processing to boost travel from abroad in a state where tourism reigns and Obama's hopes for a second term could well rest.

The president made a swing through Florida and its iconic theme park, Walt Disney World, to outline his plans to promote increased international tourism to the Sunshine State and the United States in general, while also grabbing a sliver of the spotlight ahead of the pending arrival of Republicans for their Jan. 31 presidential primary.

"I'm here to tell the world America is open for business," Obama said in Disney's Magic Kingdom.

"I want America to be the top tourist destination in the world," he said.

An Obama win in Florida could seal a second term for the president and put the pressure on the Republican nominee to pick up other key states.

"I understand the president has come to Florida today and interestingly he has chosen Fantasyland as the place for his address," said Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Thursday. "And there will be observations by me and others that perhaps there’s some poetic justice in the president speaking from Fantasyland because, I’m afraid, he’s been speaking from Fantasyland for some time now."

Romney is already lobbing economic attack ads — focusing primarily on jobs — at the president in Florida.

Obama unveiled a multi-pronged plan — in the heart of one of the world's top tourist destinations — that includes streamlining and speeding up the visa process for certain applicants in China and Brazil, the fastest growing markets for U.S. travel.

Proposed changes include the ability to waive interviews for some very low-risk applicants such as individuals from any country renewing visas or, in Brazil, younger or older first-time applicants.

Travel, business and retail advocates have argued for years that visa delays hamper economic growth and cost billions of dollars and thousands of jobs.

Travel and tourism is a $1.2 trillion sector of the U.S. economy — nearly 3 percent of gross domestic product — and Disney caters to 45 million visitors from around the world each year.

Obama carried the nation's largest swing state in the 2008 election, but he might need a bit of so-called Disney magic to ignite his campaign in Florida this year, where his popularity has dropped as unemployment tops national levels.

Florida's unemployment rate is still above 10 percent, nearly 2 percentage points higher than the 8.5 percent national average.

The goods news is that leisure and hospitality remain the strongest industry in the state, and the statewide unemployment rate dropped sharply in November — from 10.6 percent to 10.3 percent, the lowest level in 28 months — as more workers entered the job market, a signal that the state's labor market is healing.

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