Oct. 9--Like a ride on the Manta coaster at SeaWorld Orlando, the tourism industry is not for the faint-hearted, especially in the current volatile economy.

The Blackstone Group made a big splash this week in Central Florida by announcing its long-anticipated purchase of SeaWorld parent Busch Entertainment Corp. from Anheuser-Busch InBev. Busch Entertainment's properties in the region also include Aquatica and Discovery Cove, and it employs about 10,000 people here.

So far, the outlook seems bright. Blackstone says it will invest in new attractions for the parks. Jobs won't be cut.

But it's also important for the region that Blackstone picks up the tradition of community leadership and nonprofit work that began under former SeaWorld owner Anheuser-Busch. With local governments cutting back, good corporate citizens are more valuable than ever.

Buying American A new marketing campaign aimed at boosting travel to the U.S. could prove one of the better things to stimulate the economy since Cash for Clunkers, despite what a few critics like South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint claim.

He says the government shouldn't involve itself in marketing campaigns. But government's an old hand at them, from getting kids to say no to drugs to getting folks to trade in their jalopies. And if the Senate follows the House and passes a bill that could raise $200-million-a-year to promote travel to the U.S., it could jump economies from Orange County, Fla. to Orange County, Calif.

And without pinching taxpayers. A meager $10 fee charged some foreign visitors and matching funds from the U.S. travel industry would underwrite the ads.

More than enough, we should think, for opponents to buy in.

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