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Comment by Tripatini on August 10, 2010 at 5:02pm

Comment by Tripatini on August 10, 2010 at 12:30pm

From Sun-Herald (Biloxi/Gulfport, Mississippi), Aug. 9:

Study Finds Resiliency in Coast Economy
by Nicole Dow ndow@sunherald.com

"The Gulf Coast Business Council Research Foundation finds the region’s economy to be resilient after the oil spill, according to a second quarter study released by the foundation on Monday.

..overall employment showed improvement, and aggregate sales tax diversions increased for the first time in 13 quarters.

While certain industries, such as the seafood industry and charter boat fishing, saw sizable losses after the oil spill, the business council’s study found the effect of the spill was less severe than anticipated.

Some losses were offset by gains in other sectors. For example, sales tax collections among the restaurant industry dropped, but hotel sales increased, most likely as a result of occupancy by BP workers.

The business council’s report said money poured into the tourism industry after the oil spill was likely helpful in mitigating the damage the spill created.

The Harrison County Tourism Commission spent $600,000 and the state was granted $15 million by BP for marketing campaigns to boost tourism to the Coast.

In the second quarter, the gaming industry reported an increase in gross gaming revenues compared to that of the previous year.

In June, the Biloxi casinos alone broke a streak of year-over-year declines for the past 23 months."

Comment by EnLinea Media on August 10, 2010 at 10:45am

Breaking News: NTA, Edelman and Tripatini invite you to participate in their free online crisis and media relations Webinars for businesses and entities affected by the BP oil spill

The Webinars will take place on August 10, 2010, at 10 a.m. Central Time, and on August 11, 2010, also at 10 a.m. Central Time.

You can participate from your office or any computer. To join the Webinar, simply follow the directions below:

Click on this link https://img.on.intercall.com and select "Join an Instant Meeting" to join the Webinar at the designated time.

The conference ID is 6686414.

Please allow a minimum of 10 minutes (longer if you have dial-up Internet service) prior to the start of the call to download the necessary software.
When downloading the software, you will be prompted for "light" or "full" version; you may select the "light" version for this presentation.

You will also be prompted to enter your phone number. By entering your phone number, the computer will dial out to you automatically. However, if your company's phone system requires an extension or if your line is busy at the time of dialing out, you will have dial in yourself. See below:

Dial-In instructions:
800.387.6159 (U.S. and Canada)
303.928.3266 (International)
Conference ID: 6686414

Comment by Tripatini on August 9, 2010 at 5:34pm

From Pensacola News Journal, July 8:

Oil Spill Debris Washes Onshore in Escambia County

"Hard hats. Oil-covered life jackets. Honeycomb-shaped foam. Mysterious metal debris. Hundreds of oil-caked plastic bottles.

These are just a few of the objects that have been washing ashore on area beaches since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in April.

According to State Emergency Response Team reports, several beached items have been confirmed to have come from Deepwater Horizon: oil-covered life jackets that match those used on the rig and large chunks of foam that was used to insulate the riser pipe on the rig.

...Barbara Dougan, Gulf Islands National Seashore spokeswoman, said four hard hats were found last week on the beach in the Fort Pickens area. One was marked with the word 'Transocean,' which is an offshore drilling contractor associated with the Deepwater Horizon, Dougan said.

Pensacola Beach resident D.J. Zemenick, a volunteer wildlife observer and Fort Pickens turtle patroller, is on the beach every day. She has come across several out-of-place objects that washed ashore in Fort Pickens in the past few months: A hard hat, an orange traffic cone and metal containers.

...Dougan said she too has noticed increasingly less oily debris washing ashore lately.

' All the debris I found (last week) didn't have oil on it, which is different than a month ago,' she said. 'When you took a walk (before), many objects were found with an oil coating.'

Lynn Ogden, of Milton, has not yet stumbled on anything peculiar that appears to have come from an oil rig during her weekly visits to the National Seashore. However, she said she has seen more plastic bottles than usual.

' (But) we don't know where it came from,' she said.

Ogden, an environmental science and biology instructor at Pensacola State College, took a walk down the beach Friday morning to see what she could find.

Within five minutes, Ogden had picked up a slightly oiled piece of styrofoam and some plastic objects — bottle cap, fork, hair roller — all items that were most likely left by beachgoers."

Comment by Tripatini on August 9, 2010 at 5:28pm

From Pensacola News Journal, July 9:

Beach Comeback, Setting the Stage for Shows, Fee-free Weekend

"1 We're not out of the woods yet, but there are signs that paradise is shifting more toward normal from nightmare.

Sporadic tar balls still wash up on the Pensacola Beach, the jury is still out on the environmental impacts on the beach and more oil patches could wash up for weeks and months to come.

But with the beach and the Gulf of Mexico looking relatively clean lately and the Deepwater Horizon oil well capped, public perception of the beaches is changing.

Hoteliers are reporting a drop in hotel cancellations.

After a drop of 3,007 visitors to the Pensacola Beach Visitor Center in July, manager Maureen LaMar reports visitation is ticking up slightly — 100 more tourists visited the center last week compared to the two previous weeks.

'It's not much, but we'll take it,' LaMar said.

Through the summer, Bands on the Beach crowds were trending down 10 to 15 percent compared to the same time last year, said Santa Rosa Island Authority Executive Director W. A. 'Buck' Lee.

But last Tuesday, between the hours of 5 to 8 p.m., when most 'Bands' fans hit the beach, 3,644 vehicles passed through the Bob Sikes toll plaza. That is 680 more than the same time last year when 2,964 vehicles passed through, Lee said.

Beach concerts

2 At 5 p.m. on Wednesday, the Santa Rosa Island Authority board will revisit a request by Robert Rinke, managing partner of Resort Realty & Portofino Development, to use $500,000 of Island Beautification fees to buy or rent an outdoor stage for a series of fall concerts aimed at stimulating the economy.

The concert series could be a litmus test for whether crowds would support an amphitheater on Pensacola Beach, similar to The Amphitheater at The Wharf in Orange Beach, Ala. The idea has been talked about for years.

But as a way to further test the waters before millions of dollars are spent on a stage, Lee would like to see the Gulfside Pavilion at Casino Beach expanded first."

Comment by Vincent Russo on August 9, 2010 at 4:22pm

I just read the travelocity story triaptini printed here. So I'm a florida resident who asks you people from up north are you going to stay away from florida after this spill.

Comment by Tripatini on August 9, 2010 at 4:00pm

From Gulf Shores/Orange Beach CVB Facebook page, Aug. 8:

Ron McElveen "After nearly a week here in Orange Beach, I can sense the many economic loses that the Gulf Beach communities face. The loss of revenues from the impact of lost tourism extends far beyond just rentals and lease of properties to all retail and restaurant establishments. These folks are holding up well. God bless the Gulf Coast." 22 hours ago

Comment by Tripatini on August 9, 2010 at 3:57pm

Comment by Tripatini on August 9, 2010 at 3:56pm

Comment by Tripatini on August 9, 2010 at 3:51pm

From BusinessWire.com, Aug. 9:

New Travelocity Study Shows Misperceptions Abound Regarding Gulf Oil Spill Oil Spill Perceptions Could Be Problematic for Future Gulf Coast and Florida Tourism

"Though there seems to be progress in stopping the leak in the Gulf, the misperceptions about oil on beaches may take far longer for the travel industry to fix. Travelocity recently conducted a poll of over 2,000 Americans and found that many travelers believe the oil has spread far beyond its actual reach. For example, one in four respondents named the Florida Keys as one of the top three destinations they thought were [affected] by the spill. One in four also named Panama City as affected, although the beaches are clean and open.

Travelocity asked: "Based on what you've heard in the news, which would you say are the top three destinations that you think are most affected by the oil spill?" The chart to the left illustrates the results of the poll.

While many travel companies -- including Travelocity -- have launched pages dedicated to providing information about Gulf Coast travel, misperceptions abound. Though it's impossible to predict the long-term effect these misperceptions will have on tourism, it may be possible for tourism officials to lure travelers to the region with good deals. Though 24 percent of respondents said they were less interested in visiting the Gulf now than before the oil spill, more than one quarter of those said they would go if they found a compelling deal. An additional seven percent who were never interested in visiting would consider a trip if they found a good deal."

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