Chapter 18: Hawaii

This chapter talks about the rich culture of Hawaii. It also points out all the different contributors to its successful economy. Tourism is the main contributor to this success and I want to look at how tourism affects Washington State.

 "The tourism industry in Washington State employs 143,800 people, creates $4.3 billion in earnings (payroll), generates total direct visitor spending of $15.2 billion and generates $1 billion state and local tax revenue..."

"Tourism Matters" is a campaign by the state to exemplify the importance of tourism to its economy. Their website states tourism facts:

Tourism is a major industry in Washington State
According to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) produced, tourism ranks 4th as an industry, following software, aerospace and agriculture & food.

Tourism means business
it supports existing companies
it stimulates new business development

Tourism supports jobs
Nearly 150,000 jobs and $4.2 billion in earnings in Washington State
In six non-urban Washington counties, travel-related jobs are more than 10% of total employment

Tourists spend money
Total direct visitor spending was $14.2 billion in 2009

Tourists pay taxes
Nearly $1 billion in local/state tax revenue in 2009

Tourism pays for itself…and then some
Hotel/motel taxes support:
Convention center construction
Arts and cultural institutions
Low income housing
Transportation projects
Community centers

Washington's urban and rural areas work together to maximize tourism benefit
Big cities are gateways to rural attractions
Rural areas are more dependent on tourism
(Travel spending generates 15% of local sales tax and hotel/motel taxes in 8 rural counties)

The campaign aims to generate awareness around everything the state has to offer.

Sources:

"Tourism Matters to Washington." Experience WA. Washington State Tourism Commission. Web. 1 May 2011. <http://www.experiencewa.com/industry/Research/Documents/Facts%20and%20Figures/R_TourismMatters2009.pdf>.

Why Tourism Matters. Web. 01 May 2011. <http://www.whytourismmatters.com/trivia.html>.

 

Chapter 16: The North Pacific Coast

This chapter actually talks about Seattle and its metropolitan area. Like my other blogs, it talks about how abundant the state is with businesses. The chapter talks about how Boeing helped the state's economy. I will delve more into the history of the company and how it played a role during the World Wars.

The Boeing Company was founded in Seattle, Washington on July 15, 1916 by William E. Boeing as a multinational aerospace and defense corporation.

On May 9, 1917, the company became the "Boeing Airplane Company" and later supplied training seaplanes to the US Navy when World War I started in 1917. Boeing shipped 2 new Model C planes to Florida, which the Navy liked very much and they ordered 50 more of.



Boeing seaplane Model C

When the war ended in 1918, there had been a surplus of cheap, used military planes, which prevented airplane companies such as Boeing to sell brand new planes. This caused some airplane companies to close down, but Boeing used this opportunity to branch out and build dressers, counters, furniture, and flat-bottom boats called Sea Sleds.

 

In 1923, Boeing began a competition against Curtiss Aeroplane to capitalize on government air mail contracts. They were competing to build a larger and faster aircraft. Curtiss finished its design first and was awarded the contract by the U.S Army Air Service. Boeing continued to develop its PW-9 fighter.

 



PW-9



In 1925, the company built its Model 40 mail plane for the US government to use in airmail routes. Model 40A was the improved version of the Model 40 and won the U.S. Post Office's contract to deliver mail between San Francisco and Chicago.

 

 During World War II, Boeing built a large number of B-17 and B-29 bombers. Many of the workers were women whose husbands had gone to war.

 



B-17 Flying Fortress



B-29 Superfortress



Other aircraft companies in the US cooperated in building the Boeing-design B-17 bomber to cope with the high demands of the war. After the war, most orders of the bombers were cancelld and 70,000 people lost their jobs at Boeing.

 

As a result of these layoffs, Boeing delved into the development of jet-engine technology.

 

Sources:

"Boeing." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 01 May 2011. h<ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing>.

"Boeing Company." United States History. Web. 01 May 2011. <http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1832.html>.