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Comment by Tripatini on July 4, 2010 at 2:36pm

According to the July 4 edition of Louisiana's Houma Courier, the lineup at the July 24 Grand Isle Island Aid Concert to be held on Grand Isle beach will include
Three Dog Night, Little River Band, Doug Kershaw, Lorrie Morgan, Amanda Shaw, Top Cats, and the Wise Guys.

There will also be food and crafts stands, and all-day admission is $10 per person. Proceeds will go to the Grand Isle Alive Promotion Fund to raise money to aid in rebuilding the fishing and tourism industry in Grand Isle.

More info: TarponRodeo.org.

Comment by Tripatini on July 4, 2010 at 10:33am

From Panama City, Florida, CVB, 7/4:

"Panama City Beach continues to welcome visitors to enjoy our destination. Our sugary white sand beaches are open for the enjoyment of our guests and, as of now, we are seeing only intermittent impact as a result of the Deepwater Horizon off-shore oil spill in the form of small scattered tar balls and oil patches.

Bay County beaches are clear this holiday weekend, as no tarballs or other oil products have been reported washing ashore thus far today. NOAA forecasters predict the oil will continue to move to the west through the weekend."

Comment by Tripatini on July 4, 2010 at 10:30am

From Visit Pensacola blog "Curious About Our Coast," 7/4:

"Beach conditions: All gulf beaches in Escambia County are now under a health advisory that will remain in effect until beaches are no long impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The advisory, issued by the Escambia County Health Department, is for all beaches, including Pensacola Beach, Perdido Key and the portions of the Gulf Islands National Seashore fronting the Gulf of Mexico. The advisory was issued Thursday afternoon due to reports of extensive tar balls, oil mousse and oil sheen in the water. Swimming is not prohibited but swimmers are warned they swim at their own risk."

Comment by Tripatini on July 4, 2010 at 10:24am

From Florida Emerald Coast CVB FB page 7/4:

Kim Fischesser Alley "Just got back from our vacation on the gulf. Stayed in the Seaside-Seacrest area. Beautiful water and beaches. A few tar chips here and there, but nothing major. There was no smell or oily sheen on any beach we went to. The water was perfect - it was the rain for 3 days that was the problem. We drove from Destin to Panama City Beach and every where we stopped was breathtakingly beautiful. Don't cancel your reservations...go to the Emerald Coast!"

Comment by Tripatini on July 4, 2010 at 10:11am

From South Padre Island (Texas) CVB FB page the morning of 7/4:

Rick Mallard "Saturday after Alex the beaches were great and Schlitterbahn was going full blast."

Comment by Tripatini on July 3, 2010 at 11:53am

From Christian Science Monitor 7/3:

BP Oil Spill: A Subdued Fourth of July on Louisiana's Grand Isle
by Bill Sasser

"...Grand Isle’s permanent population of 1,500 normally swells to 10,000 during the summer, but this July local residents say that maybe 100 tourists are here on any given day. Nearly all of the vacation cottages along Highway 1 sit empty, and full-time residents – who have taken to installing inflatable pools in their yards for their children – fear for their property values...

...thousands of gallons of crude oil have covered a 30-mile stretch of beaches from Port Fourchon to Grand Terre Island.

Last July, the state park had 10,000 visitors. On a recent weekend, only two of its 50 camping spots were occupied by vacationers, though perhaps 1,000 BP contractors speed through the gate every day on their way to clean up tar balls and oil. The park’s beautiful Gulf-fed salt water lagoon, home to dozens of shorebirds, was recently closed to the public after oil seeped in with the tide.

The Grand Isle Tarpon Fishing Rodeo, which normally brings 20,000 participants for a weekend in July, has been canceled for the first time. In its place, an Island Aid Concert has been scheduled for July 24. Proceeds will go to the Grand Isle Alive Promotion Fund, which will aid recreational fishing and tourism."

Comment by Tripatini on July 3, 2010 at 10:47am

From Florida's Emerald Coast FB page 7/2:

Florida's Emerald Coast: A light scattering of tar chips is present this morning in Destin and Okaloosa Island, but no oil sheen has been reported. Beaches and waters are open and air quality remains excellent. Feel free to enjoy our beaches as you normally would." 23 hours ago

Tammy Tilley: "We just arrived in Sandestin. Went to the beach. Smells like the ocean. Nothing on the sand. Didn't see anything in the water. We are being cautious and will be watching for anything." 15 hours ago

Comment by Tripatini on July 3, 2010 at 10:38am

From Associated Press 7/2:

Gulf Coast Is Expecting a Glum Fourth of July
By Melissa Nelson and Jay Reeves

"Across the oil-stained Gulf Coast, it's going to be a glum Fourth of July.

"We got hit right between the eyes in June. July is starting to look like a total disaster," moaned hotel owner Julian MacQueen, who said his 181-room Hampton Inn in Pensacola Beach, Fla., should be booked solid but is only 70 percent occupied, even with rooms reduced from $225 a night last year to as little as $150.

And those who make their living from tourism have a longer-term fear: that the vacationers who find other destinations this year will never return.

At Souvenir City in Gulf Shores, Ala., owner Paul Johnson said the number of customers walking through the giant shark's-mouth entrance of his store to buy such things as T-shirts, flip-flops, hermit crabs, seashells and other beach kitsch is down by about half from last year...

Tourism officials say there have been numerous hotel cancellations across the coast. About 25 percent of all rooms in the Pensacola Bay area were still vacant on Friday, said Ed Schroeder, director of the convention and visitors bureau. Last year, hotel occupancy was 100 percent at the start of the holiday weekend...

Many businesses are fighting the misperception that every stretch of beach is coated in oil.

Pensacola Beach is doing its best to make its sands presentable. About 1,300 BP employees and county crews are working overnight to clean whatever oil washes up during high tide. By most mornings, the tourist sections are largely clean, with only orange and brown stains in the sand left behind."

Comment by Ed Wetschler on July 3, 2010 at 9:33am

DEALS SPREAD FAR FROM COAST IN SOUTHEAST U.S.

Samantha Bomkamp wrote a nice piece in the Canadian press about how "tourism in many Southeastern states is fading — even in areas far away from the gooey mess." So hotels, in particular, are offering deep discounts.

"Prices for hotel rooms are down by as much as 30 per cent across the Gulf Coast and some spots in the Caribbean, as worries spread about where the oil will wash up next. Hotels in some cities as far away as Miami and along the eastern coast of Texas are seeing bookings affected by the spill, even though the likelihood of oil appearing there is small."

"Airline ticket prices to the Gulf region have fallen slightly since the spill. In general though, flight deals are harder to find because airlines can move planes to other routes if passenger numbers drop."

She reports that room prices for New Orleans in July have dropped some 30%, in Ft. Myers, FL, they've dropped 16%, and in Miami they've dropped 10%.

"Some resorts are getting inventive. Sterling Resorts, which manages vacation properties along the Gulf Coast, is offering a "clean beach booking guarantee." Guests can get their deposits refunded or reschedule their vacation if they're concerned about the oil." And see post below about the Naples-Marco Island area.

"The Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Destin, Fla. is offering a "buy three nights, get one free" deal this weekend. It's also constructing a massive inflatable water park for visitors that are concerned about going into the ocean."

"If you want to take advantage of these deals, you'd better jump fast," she says. "Because of the uncertainty surrounding the spill, the deals might go quick."

But there are some flight deals, too: She notes a two-night package from NYC to the panhandle that costs $400 per person on Lastminute.com including air va US Airways. American Airlines is charging $637 for that package. Spirit Airlines has been offering discounts up to 50% to many locations.

"If the oil spill continues to spread, cheaper airfares will likely start to pop up in larger numbers in September, when the summer crowds subside and airfares typically fall."

She points out that "Travel insurance may not cover your loss if you decide to cancel your vacation, since the spill is a known risk. It's also a manmade disaster, which prevents insurance from paying under most natural disaster insurance clauses."

Comment by JoNell Modys on July 2, 2010 at 4:21pm

Paradise Promise: Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention and Visitors Bureau Offers Visitors Easy Access to Clean Beach Guarantees

Southwest Florida’s Paradise Coast, including the beach resort communities of Naples and Marco Island, are free of any direct impact from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and forecasts remain positive for the area’s beaches to remain clear, clean and open. To reassure visitors that are concerned about the possibility of future oil spill impacts, the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention and Visitors Bureau has launched a page on its destination Web site with information on the Paradise Promise – a collection of more than a dozen clean beach guarantees from area hotels and resorts.

Clean beach guarantees, extended to travelers whose beach vacations are disrupted due to governmental intervention, vary for each property. Examples of compensation include additional free nights, waived cancellation fees, refunded vacations and more. Visit the Paradise Promise Web page for a complete listing of Paradise Coast clean beach guarantees, and links to the latest beach conditions and live Web cams.

“Our customers are looking for reassurance that their vacations won’t be disrupted by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Since NOAA has announced that our part of Southwest Florida has less than a one percent chance* of receiving any direct impacts from the oil, many of our area hotels and resorts are eager to offer that reassurance to guests in the form of clean beach guarantees, which we have compiled and displayed on our new Paradise Promise Web page,” said Jack Wert, executive director for the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention and Visitors Bureau.

For more information on The Paradise Coast – Naples, Marco Island and the Everglades, call 1-800-688-3600 for a free visitors guide from within the USA, or dial 1-239-225-1013 from outside the USA; or go at the area’s official visitor information Web site, www.ParadiseCoast.com.

*See Figure 1, Probability of a Shoreline Threat from NOAA.

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