Florida Tourism Industry Almost Out of BP Money

At a meeting of Gov. Charlie Crist's Gulf Oil Spill Economic Recovery Task Force Wednesday, the president and CEO of the state's public-private marketing corporation lamented that the state was running out of advertising money from BP.

Florida was given $25 million by BP last month to fund local and state advertising campaigns meant to combat the negative press caused by the oil spill, but Chris Thompson of Visit Florida told BP that allotment of cash is not enough. Thompson, speaking at the Pensacola meeting, told the public face of BP that the tourism industry needs more.

"What we have been granted is about to run out," he told BP executive Darryl Willis, vice president of resources. "Not only at the state level, but also at the local level."

Willis said states seeking more advertising money should communicate directly with Doug Suttles, BP's chief operating officer of exploration and production, and not try to obtain it through the claims process.

The tourism industries in states impacted by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill will need $500 million more from BP for a marketing campaign to counter bad perceptions created by the spill, USA Today reports.

Florida and others in the Gulf state tourism sector and the U.S. Travel Association told congressional staff Tuesday that Gulf states will need an extra $500 million from the $20 billion independent oil-spill escrow account that BP promised to fund.