Famous Florida beaches: more anger than oil
As more clumps of oil wash up on Florida’s fabled Pensacola Beaches, tourism leaders are juggling with two missions:
—Assuring visitors that the state’s 825 miles of tourist-attracting beaches remain safe so far.
—Working with volunteers and others to protect the shore from oil spreading from the April 20 spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Area residents who have waited tensely for more than a week as the spill creeps closer were described as angry not only because of their long-standing closeness to the water but also for economic reasons.
“There have to be enough experts. This could have been avoided,” said Mike Esmond, one of many area protesters at local rallies protesting BP and government officials.
One of Florida’s biggest problems so far is comparisons to Louisiana, which was hit much harder by the spill.
“Our biggest challenge to date is false information being reported by the media and social media sources,” said John Cherry, a director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management.
Panama area hotels relaxed cancellation policies for wary guests while updating photos on web sites to show beaches that remained pristine. Vacancy rates were running higher than normal, however.
“I’ve talked to hoteliers and it’s not so much that there are cancellations — it’s the reservations line,” Grover Robinson, chairman of the Escambia County Commission, said at a press briefing. “The phone just isn’t ringing.”
Florida Democratic Senator Bill Nelson told CNN the arrival of the oil signified "a huge economic hit" to local tourism. "There are already cancellations, the restaurants are down a little bit," he said.
Meanwhile, other areas are reporting that the state’s famous beaches remain clean despite the oil spill.
“The 26 miles of coastline in Beaches of South Walton along Florida’s Northwest Gulf Coast are clean and open for enjoyment,” says a press release.
Many local accommodations in Beaches of South Walton are relaxing their cancellation and refund policies to protect guests’ vacations.
The area is recommending that guests check their accommodations on line to learn more about specific policies.
Florida draws about 80 million visitors a year, bringing in $60 billion and making tourism the state’s No. 1 industry, according to Kathy Torian, spokeswoman for Florida’s tourism office in Tallahassee. Tourism accounts for almost one-quarter of the state’s sales-tax revenue, she said.
While more and larger tar balls were washing ashore today in some places, including Perdido Key to the west of Pensacola, state and local officials haven’t closed beaches and most oil is being cleaned up within hours, Robinson said.
“Yes, we’ve had impact, but it hasn’t been a disaster on the beach,” Robinson said.
By David Wilkening
David
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