USA - The detrimental long-term tourism affects of the oil slick spreading across the Gulf of Mexico has led the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau (GFLCVB) to request half a million dollars from oil giant British Petroleum (BP) to fund tourism advertisements.
The proposed ads would aim to deliver the message that Broward County's “coasts are clear, clean and open for business and far from the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico”, says GFLCVB president, Nicki Grossman, who expects to work with the state agency Visit Florida, which is already in receipt of BP funds to “combat misconceptions”.
Lee County is also set to begin an “aggressive” TV campaign, to the tune of US$750,000 from a reserve fund, to advertise that its beaches are clean. “We need to get the message out that we are fine,” says the director of the visitor and convention bureau, Tamara Pigott. “This is going to be very aggressive and creative. The theme will be: Still Pristine. Some of our businesses have lost money because of the oil scare. We have to re-assure people that we do not have oil on the beaches anywhere near here,” she adds.
In related news, the owners of the new US$50m Margatiaville Beach Hotel, are still planning to go ahead with its launch date, despite the negative press coverage surrounding the Florida coastline. The site for the 162-room hotel has previously seen misfortune when the previous hotel built upon it was decimated by Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
“Everybody here is thrilled about the new hotel,” says director of communications for the Pensacola Bay Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Laura Lee. “It’s very good for our morale right now.”
