Panhandle Tourism Tanks as More Oil Hits Beaches

15 January 2011 Home > Travel Panhandle Tourism Tanks as More Oil Hits Beaches Parking lots empty, businesses idle in Fla. Panhandle as oil washes onto once-packed beaches The Associated Press
Post a Comment By MELISSA NELSON Associated Press Writer
DESTIN, Fla. June 28, 2010 (AP)

Marissa Cross of Navarre, Fla., looks for sea life and tar balls next to oil containment booms at... Marissa Cross of Navarre, Fla., looks for sea life and tar balls next to oil containment booms at the Destin Pass in Destin, Fla., Sunday, June 27, 2010. Tourism on the Gulf coast is way off, with some hotels and condominium owners saying their business is down by 50 percent. (AP Photo/Dave Martin) (AP)

Tourist businesses from Pensacola to Panama City are feeling the full financial crunch of the massive oil spill, as normally packed parking lots sat nearly empty over the weekend despite offers of discounts in an effort to drum up customers

If not for the temperatures in the high 80s, the Florida Panhandle seemed more like the January or February tourist offseason than a weekend day in July

Tourism leaders offered discounts and promoted attractions away from the beaches, but it appeared they were losing the battle to keep vacationers as the gummy tar and black crude made its slow creep toward more beaches

The normally stop-and-go traffic in the tourist town of Destin flowed easily without many of the hundreds of SUVs from Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and other Southern states that normally cram intersections and jam parking lots this time of year. Beachfront condominiums had signs welcoming walk-in customers, and the nicest hotels advertised vacancies

Doug Duval, a tourist from Carmi, Ill., walked the beach in Destin early Saturday. A few tar balls were visible in the surf line, and a mechanical sand sifting machine cleaned the beach nearby

"We almost canceled because of the oil, but probably as much of a reason we did come was a chance to see it one more time before it's spoiled for a decade or so," Duval said

Hotels and rental agencies are doing what they can to salvage any of the summer season by offering discounts and refunding money if beaches are closed because of oil cleanup

Newman Dailey, the largest vacation rental company in the Destin area, is offering discounts to people who stay five nights or longer through the July 4th holiday and a 100 percent refund if the county closes a beach for safety reasons

Paula Bolton, a tourist from Oklahoma City, booked a condo with a group of friends for a week through the company but decided to leave a day early after tar washed up. The tar and the distraction of the cleanup crews made the beach less enjoyable for Bolton and her young daughters, she said. She praised the rental company, saying an agent refunded the night without complaint and further discounted the family's vacation because of their inconvenience. Need to know more about rainwater tanks victoria?

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