Here's BP's Reason for Denying $50 million more for Tourism Marketing in the State

In its response to Gov. Charlie Crist's request for $50 million more to market the state's tourism destinations and beaches, BP said the majority of Florida's coastline is clean and it would prefer to distribute money on a local level to areas most affected by the spill.

"I have also heard from Floridians that they would rather be open for business than rely solely on a claims process," BP's Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said in a letter to Crist. "Our plan going forward is to work with tourism consultants to identify specific locations where tourism is being impacted by the incident and to provide tailored grants for targeted tourism marketing campaigns and interventions that have more immediate impact on attracting visitors. An example of this new approach is the support BP provided Gulf Shores, Ala., for the recent Jimmy Buffet concert."

Decisions about how to spend part of $1.4 million of the $25 million in tourism marketing money BP has already given the state proved divisive in Escambia County, which has seen tar balls, tar mats and oil sludge land on its shores over the past month-and-a-half. The money was meant solely for marketing, but the county wanted to use it to provide free condorentals on Perdido Key. Crist's office intervened and said the money could only be used for marketing.

Suttles' full letter is attached.