Resort and Dining Industries to Check in on Oil Spill

With 5,000 barrels of oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico daily, empty tables and rooms might be in the future for the state's coastal restaurants and hotels. And the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association wants residents to know it.

Carol Dover, president of the 10,000-member Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association, will be speaking in Pensacola on Thursday about the tourism industry's worries about the possible impact of the spill that followed the explosion of the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon oil rig.

BP has promised to cut Florida a $25 million check for cleanup efforts, and it just capped one of the three leaks today.

The state has assured residents that the Florida shores are safe from the spill through Friday, but the hospitality industry is still fretting it could reach the Gulf Coast or even the East coast, via the loop current, just as the beachgoers flock to the shores.

Hear the industry's concerns at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Hilton Pensacola Beach Gulf Front hotel at 12 Via de Luna Dive, Pensacola.