Simplify the following text for a Grade 8 native English-speaking person.
Original: However , since the 1980s , the state government has realized that tourism is a lucrative industry , and more money is being poured into the construction of tourist resorts , and restoring colonial buildings in major cities .
Simplified: In the 1980s , the state government has realized that tourism is a very good industry . Since then , more money is being used to build placed for tourists and repairing colonial buildings in major cities .