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Comment by Tripatini on July 27, 2010 at 4:38pm

From CuriousAboutOurCoast.com (Pensacola CVB), July 27:

July 27, 2010
Posted on July 27, 2010 by ewb_raad

" Beach conditions: Current impacts from the Deepwater Horizon incident on beaches in Escambia County, including Pensacola Beach, Perdido Key and the Gulf Islands National Seashore, are extremely minimal and consist largely of reports of widely scattered tar balls. Clean up crews are staged to immediately respond to any reports.

All gulf beaches in Escambia County remain under an Oil Impact Notice that will stay in effect until beaches are no longer impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The notice is not in effect for inland beaches along Pensacola and Escambia bays or for bayous. Gulf beaches are open and swimming is not prohibited but swimmers are advised to avoid coming into contact with oil, whether in the water or on land."

Comment by Tripatini on July 27, 2010 at 4:36pm

From Facebook page of Florida's Emerald Coast CVB (Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Okaloosa Island, Mary Esther, Cinco Bayou), July 27:

"No oil in the water or on the beaches, just a bit of old-fashioned seaweed. Think of it as Mother Nature's welcome mat, and come on down." 5 hours ago

Comment by Tripatini on July 27, 2010 at 4:32pm

Comment by Tripatini on July 27, 2010 at 2:32pm

Comment by Tripatini on July 27, 2010 at 10:01am

From St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 24:

Goodwill Tourists Heading to Gulf
by Cynthia Billhartz Gregorian

"Dennis Gorg calls his 'Gulf Caravan' idea tourism with a purpose. And he's inviting anyone who wants to tag along to join him in spending money at small businesses in Gulf Coast towns affected by the BP oil spill.

'I know we won't solve the crisis by being there for a week,' said Gorg, owner of Coffee Cartel in the Central West End. 'But we hope to give them a boost, raise awareness and spend a little money, too.'

Earlier this week, Oxford Economics USA projected that the Gulf Coast's tourism industry could lose up to $22.7 billion over the next three years. The industry took a hit when the gulf waters, polluted by the BP oil spill since April, started seeing tar balls, sickly fish and fowl wash up on its white-sand beaches.
Gorg can't imagine what would happen if people suddenly stopped coming to his bustling coffeehouse.

...The Gulf Caravan will head south on Aug. 8 with canned goods that are being collected at Coffee Cartel. The group will donate them to the Hancock County Food pantry in Bay St. Louis, Miss.

They will return to St. Louis on Aug. 13, with a stash of Gulf Coast tchotchkes that they'll distribute to people who donated money to spend on their behalf. Gorg is taking $10 and $20 contributions by mail and on www.gulfcaravan.com.

People who join the caravan are responsible for their own travel costs and will be asked to help spend the contributions received by Gorg.

Gorg says about 100 people, including some of his employees, have expressed interest in joining the caravan so far. The group will drive about 336 miles over five days after reaching the coast and stop at dozens of coastal towns, starting in Bay St. Louis, Miss., and ending in Panama City Beach, Fla. They'll be patronizing as many locally owned shops, eateries and lodging facilities as possible. They'll also blog and tweet about their journey along the way.
The caravan's first stop when it reaches the gulf will be the Buttercup on Second Street in Bay St. Louis.

Jamie Temple, owner of the beachfront restaurant, was deeply touched to learn this.

"He started crying when I told him," said Gorg.

"Yeah, something like that," Temple admitted, sheepishly.

Last month's revenue at the Buttercup was about half what it was a year ago, Gorg said. The college kids Temple hires full time during the summer are job-sharing. And the entire wait staff is earning a fraction of the tips than it was before the oil spill.

"Sometimes it's like a tumbleweed blowing through the place," Temple said. "We're getting some looky-looks here at America's Chernobyl, but that's about it." And they're not eating at restaurants or buying stuff, he added.
The once-bustling beach outside the Buttercup is now full of Dumpsters, trash bags and hand sanitizers, Temple said, "which is really odd, because it's really rustic here."

He has seen globs of the oil and debris wash up. On occasion, the water splashing on a nearby sea wall looks like fecal matter, he said. "Then someone shows up in a van and quickly cleans it up. It's out there like a fog. You don't know when it's going to come in or go out."

Tish Williams, director of the Hancock County (Miss.) Chamber of Commerce, which includes Bay St. Louis, Diamondhead, Waveland, and Kiln, (hometown of NFL quarterback Brett Favre), stresses that there's a lot more to do than fish and swim along the coast.

Bay St. Louis, for instance, has a recently restored historic enclave of about 200 artists, and there's a festival nearly every weekend somewhere in Hancock County, she said.

'They're going to have a good time when they come to the bay. It'll be the first stop, but it'll be the most memorable,' she said.

Temple feels fortunate that a lot of local residents patronize his business regularly. Sunday mornings, when church services let out, are keeping him afloat.

"I think a lot of (other local businesses) are hurting worse because they're selling art and luxury items," he said. "With no tourists, you're relying on the same group of people to buy what you're offering, and they're all making less money, too."

Gorg is not a shopper by nature, so the trip and its mission will be a test of his fortitude, he said. And no, he's not taking specific orders for souvenirs.
"Someone wanted to know if I'd bring them back Louisiana hot sauce," he said. "I can't make that promise. It's not like we're going to have time to personal shop for people."

Gorg is as excited as a kid bound for Disney World because he's never been to the Gulf Coast.

"These businesses don't want charity, and they don't want a BP check," he said. "They want business. It's their dream."

Comment by Tripatini on July 26, 2010 at 4:00pm

From Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention & Visitor's Bureau Facebook page, July 26:

"Jay Leno will be performing a Stand-Up Comedy Benefit Performance at the Beau Rivage on Saturday, August 21st, 2010. Proceeds from this show will be donated to the Gulf Coast Community Foundation Oil Spill Fund http://www.gulfcoastfoundation.org/index.html"

Comment by Tripatini on July 26, 2010 at 3:51pm

From CuriousAboutOurCoast.com (Pensacola CVB), July 26:

"Beach conditions: Current impacts from the Deepwater Horizon incident on beaches in Escambia County, including Pensacola Beach, Perdido Key and the Gulf Islands National Seashore, are extremely minimal and consist largely of reports of widely scattered tar balls. Clean up crews are staged to immediately respond to any reports.

All gulf beaches in Escambia County remain under an Oil Impact Notice that will stay in effect until beaches are no longer impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The notice is not in effect for inland beaches along Pensacola and Escambia bays or for bayous. Gulf beaches are open and swimming is not prohibited but swimmers are advised to avoid coming into contact with oil, whether in the water or on land."

Comment by Tripatini on July 26, 2010 at 3:17pm

From Pensacola News Journal, July 25:

Surf Store Co-Owner's Optimistic on Spill
by Troy Moon

"On Wednesday, J.B. Schluter, co-owner of Innerlight Surf and Sport, watched as [Georgia] Seacrest and five other youngsters participated in an Innerlight-sponsored surf camp at Pensacola Beach. There's a different three-day camp each week of the summer, but when the big oil scummed up Pensacola Beach during the third week of June, the camp had to move farther east than its regular spot near the Portofino resort.

"That one week we had to move it toward Navarre," said Schluter, whose family owns and operates four Innerlight stores — Pensacola, Gulf Breeze, Destin
and Gulf Shores, Ala. "But now, it really is beautiful."

Yes, there was green-and-brown seaweed on the beach as Schluter watched the youngsters surf the 2-to-3-foot waves. But not a tarball in sight.

Schluter said clean beaches, combined with BP finally stopping the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, has raised spirits among those who count on the water for their livelihood.

"There does seem to be a bit of a mood change for the better," said Schluter, whose brother Yancy Spencer, a legendary professional surfer, founded
Innerlight in 1969. "And the beach seems more crowded. I was out there last weekend, and it seemed more crowded than it has in a while."

Schluter hopes, excuse the pun, that the tide has turned concerning the oil spill. Because the damage already suffered to area businesses such as
Innerlight has been significant. He said business is down about 40 percent compared to what it was during this time last year. And these are the good
months, the months that carry the business and its employees through the lean fall and winter. He and his brother have taken pay cuts. They've had to lay
off people.

"We're losing revenue every day," he said. "And this is a family business. We've got kids in the business. It's troublesome. Because once school starts,
business usually drops 40 percent. The thing is, we've already seen that 40 percent drop this year."

And he hasn't been able to recoup any of the company's lost income from BP.

"I've filed a claim," he said. "But I haven't seen a check. They're working me to death wanting more information and more paperwork."

But he remains optimistic. "People hear about the oil, but really, the beaches
are beautiful," he said. "Now, we just have to get the word out."

Comment by Tripatini on July 26, 2010 at 2:56pm

Comment by EnLinea Media on July 25, 2010 at 8:24pm

Pensacola/Gulf Shores Seminars on Crisis and Media Relations Seminars for Gulf Coast Region Postponed to Aug. 10-11

The National Tour Association (NTA) and Edelman Public Relations are presenting a series of free seminars titled “Practical Skills for the Oil Spill Crisis: Managing Media Relations and Building Business through a Crisis.” The seminars, open to all members of the travel and tourism industry and others affected by the crisis, were scheduled for July 27-28 but were postponed due to uncertainty over the effects of Tropical Storm Bonnie. The new dates are:

>Aug. 10 9 a.m.-noon CT at the Kaiser Realty Ballroom in Gulf Shores, Alabama

>Aug. 11 10 a.m.-1 p.m. CT at the Sanders Beach Center in the Corinne Jones Community Center Ballroom in Pensacola, Florida

The half-day seminars will offer practical advice that can be used immediately by participants. Speakers will include Edelman’s experts in crisis, media and social media relations as well as NTA’s experts with tour operator communications. Topics include:

–The Crisis Perspective - Leaders of the Edelman Crisis Practice will focus on understanding the public's fears and perceptions of a crisis, addressing misperceptions through accurate messaging and finally, some of the best practices in crisis management.

–Media Relations - Edelman media specialists will review how the media is covering the oil spill, how it differs from other crises and offer pointers for keeping the media accurately informed.

–Digital Relations in a Crisis - Edelman Digital's media specialist will review methods for monitoring the digital newscape, analyzing how digital coverage can affect a business and engaging an audience using various social media platforms.

In addition to providing material support, Tripatini is sending staff to the sessions, as well.

Registration is currently open at NTAOnline.com/gulfcoast. Please contact NTA Public Relations Specialist Madeline Vied at madeline.vied@NTAstaff.com with questions regarding the seminars.

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