Gulf Coast Experiences Record Tourism Rebound After BP Oil Spill

[Geee]

TownHall:

In the short term, a massive oil spill like the Deepwater Horizon meltdown of 2010 is a terrible thing. The spill caused temporary environmental degradation that polluted the seashores and killed some marine wildlife; it disrupted regional economies and diverted valuable resources from more meaningful enterprises; the local energy and tourism industries were hit especially hard and the far-reaching implications rippled throughout the already-struggling national economy. Overall, an undeniable mega-waste of time and money that should never have happened. But, in the long term... it wasn't the absolute end of the known universe. Indeed, the Gulf Coast has already bounced back:

Along the beaches of the Gulf Coast, 2011 ends with a surprise that no one expected this soon: a post-oil spill rebound in tourism, and record-setting at that.

The year of 2010, of course, goes down as the horrible, lost period thanks to BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster, the largest oil spill in this nation’s history. This year wraps up with not only better tourism numbers than before the oil spill, but better than any year on record. Florida’s oil-impacted beaches in the Panhandle saw tourism shoot up 61 percent over 2010. Alabama rose 51 percent, while Mississippi gained 7 percent.