DESTIN, Florida: Gulf Coast tourism officials who gathered for a meeting at a Florida Panhandle resort weren't exactly jumping for joy over the prospects for growth in 2011, even with the worst of the recession and BP oil spill in their rear-view mirrors. Instead, there was measured optimism that this would be a year of modest recovery — that vacationers would continue coming back to the beaches and seafood restaurants in communities whose images and economies were battered by the oil spill last year. The Deepwater Horizon explosion and spill occurred April 20, ruining the lucrative summer season and the year for tourist enclaves that were still fighting off the malaise of the recession. The gusher was finally capped three months later. Millions of dollars in reparations from BP were invested into national promotions for the beaches and gulf seafood. Tourism officials reported good — but not great — March spring break crowds this year, with the more family oriented Easter break and typically busy summer seasons still on the horizon. But many hotels still are offering deep discounts to keep rooms filled. In Pensacola, BP workers walk the beaches regularly to round up stray tar balls, and tourism bureaus continue to fight the perception around the country that the white-sand beaches in the Florida Panhandle and coastal Alabama are awash with oil.
