Gulf Coast seeing tourism increase since last year?s oil spill

All along Florida?s Gulf Coast, the hotels, restaurants, and other tourism industry related businesses are hoping that visitors will soon be coming back to the beach after last year?s spill in the Gulf of Mexico caused environmental damage and kept tourists away, even in areas that had been untouched by the BP/Deepwater Horizon industrial accident.

The Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Blog is reporting that tickets purchased through Expedia.com to Panama City Beach for March are up by 156 per cent compared to last year, which is a hopeful sign to local businesses that were devastated by the loss in revenue during the 2010 season. As the college students begin their spring break vacations, Panama City Beach hotels, bars and restaurants are already hosting special events that cater to the youthful crowds.

And just to make sure Panama City Beach is ready for the influx of students this season, the VisitPanamaCityBeach.com website has a full listing of events?as well as a listing of spring break dates for just about every major university east of the Mississippi River.

Farther down the coast, the beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel is reporting that nearly 178,000 visitors who spent $288.5 million during the month of January 2011. According to the Lee County Tourist Development Council (TDC), total visitation was down 2.5 percent from last January, but the number of visitors in paid accommodations increased 2.2 percent.
More information on events and accommodations at the beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel is available at www.FortMyersSanibel.com.

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