As a former Florida resident for a few years, and a big fan of not only the unique attractions of the interior but also the gorgeous Gulf side beaches, I’m taking a great interest in the impact of the BP oil spill disaster.
Nothing significant has happened quite yet to Florida (unlike coastal Louisiana) but even the threat of tar balls has knocked the sugar-sand Panhandle beaches off of Dr. Beach’s annual best beaches list.
Since there are already signs of a tourism drop-off….the best time to snag amazing deals, you travelers, even though it feels vulture-like….and President Obama is urging travel to the Gulf Coast beaches, the crisis communications response has begun.
The Visit Florida tourism organization (a pretty effective machine even without hurricanes and other disasters!) is harnessing the power of webcams, photos and live Twitter reports from humans on a new website page; it’s called Florida Live.
Rather than sticking their heads in the sand about tourists avoiding the coast for fear of oil spill problems, they’re trying to gather eyewitness reports (particularly from beach areas) and make them easily searchable and accessible, so that people can see coastal destinations and make their own travel decisions.
In addition to graphics, there is a link to the Deepwater Horizon response team at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, plus links to specific tourism organizations like CVBs (Convention and Visitor’s Bureaus) across all of the regions in the state.
Visitors want to see for themselves. Florida is trying to make it easy for them.
Travelers, go if you can, but use the tools available to check the situation first. You can also follow @VisitFlorida on Twitter.
The whole thing is so sad. I hope it will get sorted soon.
The entire situation will be very unforunate for the environment and for the global market in many different methods. This problem would have been prevented but sometimes hazards happen. These companies should be held responsible for this new catastrophe.
BP needed to think the future effects of this tragedy.
I agree with you Mat. Lets just hope this crisis will be over for good.
Paul
First the first Gulf oil spill, now we see that the second one has blown up in Louisiana. I sure hope that this doesn’t mean more environmental destruction. On the other hand, this country needs this homegrown energy. This such a complicated problem to figure out. I’m not sure what the answer is.
Pensacola Beach, much like the rest of the East coast, is currently experiencing the negative repercussions of the recent oil spill on our tourism industry. The Pensacola Beach Chamber of Commerce is organizing two great events for the fall in hopes of bringing visitors back to our beautiful beaches: The Pensacola Beach Taste of the Beach weekend is being held on September 18-19, and The 3rd annual Art and Wine Weekend on October 2-3.
At Taste of the Beach, celebrated chefs showcase their culinary skills at the Gulfside Pavilion at Pensacola Beach. The event also features live music, dance performances and a Corvette car show.
At The Art and Wine Weekend, the free ‘Art Express’ trolley will take visitors to 20 different locations to view a variety of modern art. Multiple wine tastings will also be occurring all weekend; I highly recommended all art and wine lovers to attend.
For more information visit: http://www.pensacolabeachholidays.com/