A survey published Thursday by the American Automobile Association revealed that the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has triggered a rise in the number of travelers who have canceled or otherwise changed their plans to visit Florida's Gulf Coast.
The popular automobile club's Consumer Pulse survey compares traveler responses collected over four days at the end of May to those collected over four days at the end of June. While the number of travelers from the eastern U.S. to Florida has stayed pretty steady over the two months since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill started, bad press is having a real effect on whether travelers come to Florida's shores, reported the survey.
The news about the oil spill is starting to register with them and cause them to change or cancel their plans, Kevin Bakewell, senior vice president of AAA Auto Club South, told Sunshine State News.
Thirty-two percent (or 484 people) of the 1,500 travelers surveyed in June had plans to visit the state in the next 12 months, almost identical to Mays numbers. Fifty-two percent of those plan to visit the state's Gulf Coast.
Of those, roughly 251 travelers visiting the Gulf Coast, about 32 (or, 21 percent) said they were changing their travel plans in some way. Roughly seven of those said it was because of the oil spill. In May, no travelers identified the spill as a reason for changing their travel plans.
While 87 percent of the travelers planning to visit the state have not changed their plans, 60 percent of them have negative perceptions of Northwest Florida beaches because of the spill; 24 percent have a negative perception of Southern west coast beaches.
Nationally, Fourth of July travel is expected to increase this year. Twenty-three percent of people who had planned to visit the Gulf Coast intended to come for the crucial long weekend, but 53 percent of those changed their plans because of the spill.
The Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort is expecting to do solid Fourth-of-July business despite the spill, said spokesperson Laurie Hobbs. Still, the resort has taken a hit this year. "Guests are doing more research about where they want to visit and about the effects of the spill before making a reservation," Hobbs said. The resort has offered specials to counter the ill effects of the spill, like allowing guests to stay the Fourth of July for free if they check in Thursday.
Cancellations are slightly higher than they were last year, Hobbs said.
Those who are changing their plans to visit the Gulf Coast are not necessarily canceling their trips to Florida or the area altogether, the survey found. When travelers were asked what they would do if they chose to change their plans because of the spill, most said they would go to areas not affected by the disaster. Others said they would choose another part of the coast, vacation inland, shorten their trip, or in rare cases, change their schedules to help with the spill response.
Bakewell said he does not know whether changes to travel plans would continue to rise. "I think it's going to be directly related to progress that is made or isn't made in stopping the spill," he said.
Bakewell said that AAA has not issued a travel advisory for Florida, and it is directing travelers to check its Web site and other credible sites when making travel reservations.
Were urging people to come to our sites and do their own research," he said.
The tourism industry has been battling an onslaught of press coverage that has sometimes made the oil spills impact on Florida seem worse than it is, he said. Tar balls, tar patties and other forms of goo from the oil spill washed up in June on Northwest Florida shores and in waters from Pensacola Beach to Panama City. The beaches have remained open, for the most part, and serviced by cleanup crews, although there has been one temporary full closure of a beach section and multiple swimming health advisories.
Visit Florida, the states public-private marketing agency, has used a little more than half of the $25 million given to the state by BP for an emergency marketing campaign. Its not enough, said Visit Florida president and CEO Chris Thompson. The rest of that money went to county tourism campaigns.
Visit Florida has been doing all it can to draw tourists to beaches and keep the status of beachesupdatedwith the Florida Live Web site.
We still feel thatthe platform we have is the most credible, accurate way to keep track of information," Thompson said.
Gov. Charlie Crist asked BP for $50 million more for the state tourism industry Wednesday, but there has been no announced movement on the money.
Reach Alex Tiegen at Atiegen@sunshinestatenews.com or (561) 329-5389.
