Effects of Oil Spill

• Beach and Oceans related activities• Wildlife related activities• Dining and seafood

BP response

• 25 Million to Florida• 15 Million to Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama

(BP)

Alabama

• 26% drop in guests (4.6 to 3.4 million visitors)• 600 million in lost revenue• 10,000 lost jobs

• Recovery– Large social networking project

• “We have seven people working in shifts. We try to be available from 6am to midnight, 7 days a week” (Alabama Gulf Coast Facebook Fan Page)

– 31,838 Facebook fans– 5,257 Twitter followers

(Alabama Coastal Resiliency Coalition)

Florida

• Primary Markets: Beach recreation and sport fishing• Perception of oil spill

– EPA only guaranteed oil free beaches for 3 day periods (NYTimes)• Reality of oil spill

– “The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced today that a new analysis shows Southern Florida, the Florida Keys, and the East Coast are unlikely to experience any effects from the remaining oil on the surface of the Gulf as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.” (Florida Department of Environmental Protection )

• Recovery– Add Campaign

Louisiana• Large majority of Louisiana

tourism market comes from New Orleans– Primary Markets: Seafood, ocean

recreation, wildlife• New Orleans already hurt from

Katrina– Tourism levels were not expected

to return to normal (24.8 million visitors) until 2013 (University of New Orleans)

• Recovery– Add campaign to address

misconceptions about seafood and beach safety

Sources

• http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968&contentId=7062187

• http://www.crt.state.la.us/TOURISM/RESEARCH/Documents/2009-10/2009%20Forecast.pdf

• http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/10/united_effort_sought_to_promot.html

• http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/20/science/earth/20tourism.html

• http://www.dep.state.fl.us/deepwaterhorizon/files/073010_noaa_florida.pdf

• http://www.gulfshores.com/stats/AARC%20Oil%20Spill%20Response.pdf