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Comment by Tripatini on July 20, 2010 at 4:52pm

From Florida's Emerald Coast CVB Facebook page, July 20:

Dave Davis: "A little bit of seaweed near the shoreline on Okaloosa Island this morning but the beach and water are looking good. Oil is still way to the west of us." 7 hours ago

Ethel Santiago Amutan: "The 'sheen' is about 70-80 miles away from the shores of Okaloosa Island / Destin." 7 hours ago

Comment by Tripatini on July 20, 2010 at 4:42pm

Comment by Tripatini on July 20, 2010 at 4:39pm

Comment by Tripatini on July 20, 2010 at 2:11pm

From New York Times, July 19:

Real Estate Doldrums on Gulf Coast Beaches
by James C. McKinley, Jr.

"...Sales of beachfront condominiums and homes have plummeted since late April, when oil started gushing into the Gulf of Mexico after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig. Property values are dropping, and the number of apartment rentals is half what it usually is.

In a beach town like this, where sales and rentals of vacation homes are the life’s blood of the economy, drawing a tide of tourists to fill the restaurants and boutiques, the economic impact has been deep...

The value of coastal property has taken a beating along a 600-mile stretch from the Louisiana bayous to Clearwater, Fla., a stretch that before the spill was worth at least $4.3 billion, just counting the land and buildings within an acre of the shore, according to Norm Miller, an economist at the University of San Diego who is also the vice president of analytics at CoStar Group Inc.

After studying recent sales of shoreline property, Mr. Miller estimated that the value of property would drop at least 10 percent, on average, over the next seven years because of the spill.

...The real estate market here was already depressed, after the burst of the housing bubble in 2008 and the current recession. The market peaked in 2005, when nearly 1,300 condominiums were sold for about $400 a square foot. By 2008, the prices and sales had both been cut in half.

Yet the market had recovered well in the last two years, brokers said, with the sales of condos — many of them foreclosures or short sales — climbing 30 percent a year. Sales were brisk in the first four months of this year, with more than 348 condos changing hands.

Then came the spill. In the first three weeks of June, the value of condo and home sales was $21 million lower than in the same period the previous year.
...So far, crews have removed about 1,500 tons of oil from Gulf Shore’s beaches alone, city officials said, and they have been forced to close the city’s beaches for a day about once every four days since the spill began."

Comment by Tripatini on July 19, 2010 at 6:20pm

Comment by Tripatini on July 19, 2010 at 12:09pm

From WLOX of Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi, July 18:

The Oil Isn't Stopping Some from Visiting South Mississippi
by Jessica Bowman

"BILOXI, MS (WLOX) - It's been days since oil stopped spewing into the Gulf. So, is that bringing more tourists back to South Mississippi? One local Biloxi business owner said tourists may not be steadily coming back like in previous years, but he believes the oil capping is encouraging them to come back.

The tourist hot spot is packed with out-of-towners searching for the perfect item to remember Biloxi Beach.

Jenny Coward said, 'I wasn't going to let a little oil spill stop me from having a good time....A lot more people this weekend. Last month there wasn't as much, but this weekend seems like it's a lot more.'

J. J. Pierotich's Souvenir City has been in operation for more than 30 years. He believes the capping of the oil well could be the start of tourists making their way back.

't seems like people have a much better attitude and they're ready to go back out again,' said J. J. Pierotich. Although he has not seen a spike in business, he is optimistic:'We're very encouraged, but people aren't spending as much money because the oil reaches way further than the beach. I don't think they have the money to spend to come over to Biloxi like they did in the past. So, hopefully they'll get on the spill and get cleaned up and try to keep it off the beaches to try and get most of us in the tourism industry to salvage the rest of the summer.'

Despite oil on the beaches, Coward said her trips to the coast will continue. 'It's not as bad as everyone is making it out to be and I think once they get out here and see that it's not as bad, they'll start coming back.'

Comment by Tripatini on July 19, 2010 at 11:59am

From Florida's Emerald Coast Facebook page, July 19:

Jenah Hamner Hamilton: "Beautiful morning here in Destin. Beaches are beautiful and no oil on sight!" 3 hours ago

Comment by Tripatini on July 19, 2010 at 11:44am

From Visit Pensacola blog, July 15:

"It’s certainly an understatement to say that it’s been a difficult time around our region lately. We’ve banded through hard times before, and this is no exception. Uniting together as a community and culture will keep our momentum going, and allow Pensacola to continue to be the special, beautiful place it always has been.

Please join us in this effort.

VisitPensacola has launched 1Pensacola, a social media effort to create solidarity among people everywhere that love the Pensacola Bay Area. We can’t predict the future, but we can spread the word that the Pensacola region is open and ready for business.

In a 5-phase rollout, we will use the power of social media to advocate for the business community, help overcome the challenges of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, and create a unified 1Pensacola.

We’re working with other regional Chambers, organizations and government entities to launch 1Pensacola, but we need the help of the entire businesses community. All businesses throughout the Pensacola Bay Area are invited to participate in this campaign. Each phase is free and to be involved the only necessity is to fill out a brief online survey. So, please register now if you’re interested in participating. Phase 1 is underway. Join 1Pensacola and “Share the Love” to create camaraderie and solidarity between business owners and organizations along the Gulf Coast.

Together, we can ensure that Pensacola thrives even during the most difficult times, by creating a unified 1Pensacola."

Comment by Tripatini on July 18, 2010 at 4:04pm

From Florida Emerald Coast Facebook page, July 18:

"Amanda Barnard Just got home from a week's stay on Okaloosa Island....weather was perfect and no oil in sight....the seaweed was a little annoying but so much better than oil!" 15 hours ago

Comment by Tripatini on July 18, 2010 at 2:32pm

From Bradenton Herald (Florida), July 18:

Our Beaches Are Just Fine; PR Pros Use Web to Get Word Out
by Sara Kennedy

" MANATEE — They have handled every sort of crisis imaginable, including the stink of Red Tide, dangerous hurricanes and even shark attacks.

But BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil well, until Thursday belching crude 311 miles away, is a first for public relations professionals because they are combating a perception of oil on local beaches — not its reality.

The coastline of Manatee and Sarasota remains pristine, and to emphasize that fact, tourism officials have turned to social media websites and live web cameras to reassure travelers.

The beaches of Manatee County have not been effected by the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. PR professionals never thought we’d experience this kind of situation in our careers,” Elliott Falcione, interim director for the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, told a meeting of the Central West Coast Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association.

His recommendation for handling it: Use quick, efficient Internet media.

“The online component has really helped — web cam links on the beach — so prospective tourists can see live what our beaches really look like,” he said.

Why not try live videos with fishermen showing fresh fish they had caught? And remember to prominently display its date, to attract last-minute bookings, he suggested.

“That online component is powerful,” Falcione told the group, which met for a session titled, “Communicating the Impact of the Oil Spill.”

Potential visitors may not realize that only a few beaches in the northwest section of the state have been blackened by oil, noted Erin Duggan, communications director for the Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“They may not know if they want to come to Bradenton-Sarasota, but they can see live shots of people enjoying the beach — a picture being taken right here, right now,” she said.

Sarasota officials have ramped up their viral and social messaging, and recruited local people to post pictures of a clean Siesta Key, for example, on the bureau’s website.

“Social media has been huge for us,” Duggan said.

The panel included Falcione, Duggan and Larry Allen, Sarasota County communications czar. It was moderated by Barbara Kirkpatrick, senior scientist at Mote Marine Laboratory.

The crowd even got a bit of good news after weeks of depressing headlines about dying birds and despoiled beaches hundreds of miles away.

Both Manatee and Sarasota counties are reporting an increase in “bed tax” collections, the 5 percent tax charged on accommodations, said Falcione and Duggan.

The area seems to be drawing tourists who previously vacationed along the state’s northwest coast, who have decided to come here, instead, numbers suggest."

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