Commerce Secretary Says BP Should Pay For Tourism Ads
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
By: Tom Parkinson

July 27, 2010 - U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke says the tourism business needs more advertising money from BP to lure visitors back to Florida.

Secretary Locke told the U.S. Tourism and Travel Advisory Board that recovery for the tourism industry will take "a lot of time, a lot of work and a lot of money." 
Locke said BP PLC should be pressed to provide money for the advertising campaign.

Early this summer, the oil company gave Florida's tourist agency $25 million dollars for a promotional campaign but that money has been spent. Gov. Charlie Crist asked for an additional $50 million dollars for advertising but BP rejected that request.

Only a small portion of the state’s coastline has been directly impacted by oil from the Gulf spill but some Florida hotels report up to 70% of their guests have cancelled reservations due to fear about the spill.
The U.S. Travel Association says at least 400,000 travel industry jobs are at stake. The association is pushing for another $500 million from BP to counteract negative publicity about the spill.