Gulf states need $500 million to bring tourists back

A $500 million marketing initiative is needed to revive tourism to the Gulf states as the worst oil spill in US history continues to kill the multibillion dollar industry, tourism executives told congressional staffers.

New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau President, Stephen Perry, proposed the $500 million figure as a reasonable sum for lifting tourism and preventing economic upheaval in the tourist-dependent region, reported ABC News.

With visitors to the Gulf states spending $94 billion a year before the spill and 310, 000 tourism industry jobs at risk, officials from Florida, Louisiana and the U.S. Travel Association advised they would be submitting specific legislative requests for assistance within the month.

"The impact that you could have would be such that you would save the jobs and lives of tens of thousands of people who are absolutely, unequivocally going to lose them over the next year," said Perry.

As oil continues to spill, wary travelers are shunning the once popular Gulf of Mexico in favour of sludge free vacation time, despite reports that it is not all black beaches and cleanup crews, said USA Today.

A New York travel agency reported half of their Gulf Coast booked travelers were considering canceling, even though they've been told most of the beaches are fine.

Hilton Pensacola Beach Gulf Front owner Julian MacQueen said that before the oil spill, occupancy was up 20 per cent over last year, but the bubble has burst as "reservations have gone down and stayed down."

Travel booking websites also show a marked drop in daily rates for hotels in the Gulf region with all indications that the trend is likely to continue into the future.
Florida, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana state tourism directors which each received $15 million from BP in compensation for lost business, along with Florida, which received $25 million, will spend most of the funds on advertising campaigns using websites showing date-stamped images and live webcam feeds telling visitors that the region is open for business.

Sourced=etravelblackboard