Tourism ads unlikely to play up oil-free beaches locally at expense of state's Gulf Coast

While the beaches of the Treasure Coast remain free of the effects from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, tourism officials are being extremely diplomatic when asked whether they?re going to capitalize on the growing oil spill along the Gulf Coast.

?It would be a really bad thing to take advantage of,? said Rozeta Mahboubi, executive director of the Martin County Convention & Visitors Bureau. ?We work with those on the Gulf Coast and we sympathize with them. We don?t want negative publicity anywhere in Florida.?

Jeanne Radlet, general manager of the historic Driftwood Resort in Vero Beach, said they will tell people with reservations who have expressed concerns about the spill that the local beaches remain oil free.

However, they aren?t going to run promotions that indicate Florida?s east coast beaches remain clean while the oil slick threatens the Gulf of Mexico.

?I don?t want to jinx the other side of the state and I certainly wouldn?t want that to happen to us,? Radlet said.

In a state annually threatened by hurricanes and other natural disasters, Charlotte Lombard, St. Lucie County tourism coordinator, agreed.

?I would not use a natural disaster as an opportunity, given the fact we work with the counties that could be affected,? she said.

Still, Mahboubi acknowledged if the spill doesn?t get pulled into the loop current that could bring the pollution to the Treasure Coast and other areas of the east coast, that could help the region?s hotels and other tourism-related industries.

?People will go where the beaches are better, I don?t think we have to do anything intentionally,? she said. ?It will probably help us naturally, just like it usually does. When stuff happens in one area, they are pushed to another area.?

Because tourists spend $60 billion a year in the state, generating almost a quarter of the state?s sales tax, Visit Florida ? the state?s tourism arm ? has posted on its website an update of the oil spill that includes the comment, ?Currently, there are no impacts to our beaches and shores.?

Also, Gov. Charlie Crist wants BP to pay for a $35 million tourism campaign to ease the minds of would-be travelers to Florida.

The state Department of Environmental Protection, in its daily update Friday, reported the oil spill is 75 miles southwest of Pensacola, 25 miles closer than it was on Tuesday. The slick was also 340 miles from St. Petersburg and 90 miles from the Loop Current on Friday.

Gary Guertin, general manager of Harborage Yacht Club & Marina in Stuart and host of the weekly ?Talkin? Tourism on Florida?s Treasure Coast? on WPSL 1590 AM, said the tourism offices should work with the state to overcome the misconception that often occurs when a hurricane hits one part of the Florida.

?I think everybody, whether on the east coast or the west coast, has to send a message out in unison that Florida is open for business, please come to the destination of your choice, and everything is good,? Guertin said. ?It?s not just about bringing people to your area, it?s keeping people coming to Florida period.?

Harborage already has seen a little benefit from the spill. A 108-foot privately owned boat that was destined for Texas has remained docked in Stuart for a week rather than risk traveling through the spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Guertin said.