Travel News

The Gulf Coast One Year After The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Locations in this article:  Baltimore, MD Houston, TX Nashville, TN New Orleans, LA Santa Rosa, CA

Gulf Shores, Alabama & the Oil Spill - Peter Greenberg Worldwide RadioAs we approach the one-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon explosion that sent nearly 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, it’s time to look at how Gulf Coast industries are faring. Sarika Chawla looks at what some coastal communities are doing to bring back visitors this summer.

The BP Deepwater Horizon spill is the largest accidental marine oil spill in history, sending nearly 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico between April 20 and July 15, 2010, devastating the Gulf Coast’s tourism industry just as coastal communities were transitioning from spring break to the high summer tourist season.

In the coastal communities of Mississippi, Alabama and Northwest Florida combined, lodging revenue was down 12.9 percent when comparing tourism revenue from May-August 2010 versus 2009. That’s nearly $100 million in that peak summer period alone.

Some communities were hit harder than others. Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama, for example, took a 41.5 percent hit in lodging revenues during those months.

Pensacola, Florida, which saw tar balls and oil washing up was down as much as 25 percent in June 2010 compared to the previous year, and lost $10 million in lodging revenues that summer.

Even areas that weren’t affected by oil suffered from a perception issue as tourists stayed away for fear of contamination.

Although only flecks of tar appeared in Panama City, Florida, visitorship decreased by 15 percent in both July and August 2010. The area was anticipating a banner year based on spring-break numbers and the May opening of the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport , but its bed taxes in June, July and August 2010 dropped 3.7, 14.5 and 14.7 percent, respectively.

Louisiana, not known as a beach destination, saw losses in industries like private charter fishing and swamp tours. One study found that immediately after the spill, 26 percent of the visitors who planned trips to Louisiana canceled or postponed them. Lost visitor spending is expected to total $295 million through 2013, representing a 0.8 percent decrease from the original forecast.

Mississippi’s coastal counties of Harrison, Hancock and Jackson, saw only a modest drop in visitor spending in FY2010 compared to FY2009 ($1.62 billion and $1.63 billion, respectively); but these communities are still struggling to reach the pre-Hurricane Katrina figures of $2 billion in FY2005.

How quickly can we expect these regions to recover? According to a report from Texas A&M’s Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, they expect a 30 percent return to normalcy this year, 70 percent next year, and full recovery by 2013.

How Safe is the Seafood?

The Gulf seafood industry took an enormous hit over fishing closures and public concerns that the product wasn’t safe to consume. The Gulf of Mexico saw a 39 percent decline in commercial fishing landings between 2009 and 2010, representing a $62 million loss in dockside sales.

For perspective, at one point last summer, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) closed off more than 36 percent of Gulf waters; by last November, less than 0.4 percent of those federal waters, or 1,041 square miles were closed. Today, NOAA has announced that all federal waters have been reopened to commercial and recreational fishing, marking the twelfth and final reopening in federal waters due to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Areas once closed to fishing were reopened only when all seafood sampled in the area passed stringent tests for oil and dispersant, based on methods developed by NOAA, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Gulf states.

Overall, more than 300,000 Gulf seafood organisms have been sampled by the FDA and NOAA labs — with almost every sample showing no trace of oil or dispersant. Right now, Gulf seafood is the most tested stock in the world.

Meanwhile, individual Gulf states received grants from British Petroleum earmarked specifically for seafood testing and marketing. Louisiana received $18 million for testing and an additional $30 million for seafood marketing to be administered by the state’s Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board.

Louisiana’s new multi-platform seafood marketing campaign, called Serve the Gulf, was funded by a $300,000 grant from BP.

BP Funding and Tourism Marketing

With cleanup efforts underway and bolstered by marketing grants from BP, communities in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi quickly rolled out campaigns, promotions and events to get tourists back to the area.

Perhaps the most well-publicized of the bunch was Concerts for the Coast Series in Gulf Shores, which was kicked off by the Jimmy Buffett and Friends concert on July 1 (35,000 free tickets were snatched up within 6 minutes). That initiative, as well as an October concert by Brad Paisley and Bon Jovi, was funded by the original $7 million given to Alabama for tourism marketing and special events.

Mississippi got a $15 million grant from BP, followed by an additional $3 million to its Gulf counties. Part of that original funding went toward a massive “Wish You Were Here” campaign, which included TV and radio spots, YouTube videos and online giveaways.

Most recently, this month, BP granted $30 million to the Northwest Florida Tourism Council for tourism promotion in the seven hardest-hit counties: Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, Gulf, and Franklin. The money will be used for TV, radio, social media, and smartphone apps in core markets as well as emerging markets like Baltimore, Houston, and Nashville, which are now being served by the region’s new airport.

Marketing efforts for Louisiana tourism were initially funded by a $15 million grant, which was divided by coastal parishes, the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Louisiana Office of Tourism, followed by an additional $30 million.

Where to Find the Deals

With summer travel season just around the corner, now is the time to look for deals and events being rolled out to entice visitors.

Alabama:

Florida:

Lousiana:

Mississippi:

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By Sarika Chawla for PeterGreenberg.com