Tourists — God love ’em. — if they would only stop blocking the sidewalks and escalators Washingtonians might grow to like them.

But we might respect their influence in our lives a little more after seeing how much money they spend locally.

According to a National Park Service report, 33.1 million tourists spent $1.006 billion to support 12,043 jobs in 2010.

A billion dollars? Gotta start hitting people up for bigger tips if they’re carrying that kind of change.

Maryland drew 3.5 million tourists in 2010, spending $164 million and supporting 2,583 jobs. Virginia drew 22.7 million tourists in 2010, spending $505 million and supporting 8,558 jobs.

On a national level, NPS said tourists were worth $16.62 billion to the economy and supported 258,400 jobs.